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The contract holdouts of Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott and Los Angeles Chargers‘ Melvin Gordon has no bounds as former NFL running back O.J. Simpson chimed in on Twitter. His message was a simple one, as he told the teams to “pay these men.”
In the video, Simpson calls out Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for not paying Elliott, who has “outperformed his rookie contract.”
Simpson continues his comments toward Jones as well, explaining that the Cowboys aren’t the same team with the running back.
“Let’s face it, with him [Elliott], you’re a Super Bowl-caliber team. Without him, you might not make the playoffs.” Simpson said.
Elliott is due $12 million over the next two years with the Cowboys. While he’s still under his rookie contract, Elliott wants to receive a deal on par with the highest-paid running back in the league, Todd Gurley.
In three seasons with the Cowboys, Elliott amassed over 4,000 rushing yards. In his rookie season of 2016, he scored 15 rushing touchdowns and there’s been no sign of him slowing down, even with an incredibly heavy workload.
The team also added free agent Alfred Morris to a one-year deal on Monday. The addition of Morris should add some depth to a young backfield that includes rookies Tony Pollard and Mike Weber. His veteran presence will be great for the team even when Elliott returns.
Nonetheless, there is plenty of drama to go around for Elliott. So much so, Simpson had to give his perspective.
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O.J. Simpson’s Melvin Gordon Comments
Melvin Gordon is currently holding out while the Los Angeles Chargers’ training camp rolls on. He is entering his fourth season in the NFL and has only had one 1,000-plus yard rushing season, which came in 2017.
The Chargers have an intriguing amount of depth behind him at running back, so they may have a bit more leverage than the Cowboys. This group includes a strong pass-catching running back in Austin Ekeler, along with Justin Jackson. Both players have filled in for Gordon as he dealt with injuries previously in his career.
Simpson said Gordon’s situation is a little different than Elliott’s, given the depth in Los Angeles. He thinks Gordon is one of the best in the league when he’s on the field, though.
Senior NFL reporter for Yahoo Charles Robinson says the two sides are $2 million to $3 million apart on a potential deal.
#Chargers & Melvin Gordon talks are $2-$3 million apart in average salary. Chargers hoping for a raise over #Falcons’ Devonta Freeman (5 years, $41.25 mil). Gordon aiming closer to #Cardinals’ David Johnson (3 yrs, $39 mil). I think $12 mil per yr w/ incentives would get it done.
It looks like the Chargers and Gordon are moving closer to getting a contract done than the Cowboys and Elliott. With that said, there’s been nothing concrete that links the sides to narrowing the aforementioned gap to this point. Additional details are likely to emerge before the summer ends and the regular season gets underway.
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