Getty Marshall Faulk
Marshall Faulk is at it again.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame running back and unofficial mouthpiece of Dallas Cowboys holdout Ezekiel Elliott appeared Wednesday on the Dan Patrick Show to lay into Dallas for recently extending linebacker Jaylon Smith — and not Elliott, yet.
“If you think about this, and I’m not counting another man’s money, but if you think about what Jaylon Smith did and what he got, compared to what Zeke has done and what he is asking for … it’s not even close,” Faulk said, via 105.3 The Fan. “They drafted a linebacker in the first round last year. If they thought so much of Jaylon, I mean, you draft another linebacker in the first round (Leighton Vander Esch).”
Talk about misdirected angst: the Cowboys invested a first-round pick in Vander Esch to succeed the aging, injury-prone Sean Lee, who plays an entirely different position than Smith. Why he’s taking shots at Elliott’s teammates — Faulk predicted quarterback Dak Prescott would be a “bum” if he received a new deal — is beyond anyone’s comprehension.
Comparing a linebacker to a running back is apples and bowling balls, anyway, but it’s immaterial to Faulk, who shares an agent with Elliott, and who took it upon himself to train the two-time Pro Bowler in Cabo San Lucas, where he’s hunkered down in recent weeks.
Elliott met Faulk’s challenge head-on and didn’t vomit from the purportedly intense workouts. The latter noted the former’s physique, telling NFL Network’s Rich Eisen he’s in “very good shape,” readying to hit the field.
“The process of getting into football shape is underway,” Faulk relayed to Eisen on Aug. 25.
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Jerry Jones Lays Out New Plan for Holdout
In his weekly radio spot on 105.3 The Fan on Wednesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones updated his progress in negotiations with Elliott’s camp. Jones had nothing new to report but did affirm the team is ready to do battle sans the reigning rushing champ.
“We have to be prepared to play without any given player,” he said. “We may very well play without a player that’s not coming in on his contract. We’ll play and we’ll play well.”
Elliott is now on Day 35 of his holdout from team activities, and the Cowboys are now 10 days away from taking on the rival New York Giants at AT&T Stadium to open the regular season. There’s no end in sight to his absence, nor an imminent agreement between the increasingly hostile parties.
Jonesing for ‘Business’
While the club continues its standoff with Elliott, they remain amicable to contract extensions for their other offensive stars, quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper. Speaking at the Cowboys’ Kickoff Luncheon on Wednesday, vice president Stephen Jones extended a willingness to lock down the walk-year stars with long-term contracts.
“We’re open for business,” Jones said, per the team’s official website. “We don’t put any deadlines on anything. No one has informed me that they’re either going to visit or not visit.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter @KelbermanNFL