Getty Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliott
Dak Prescott threw cold water on the “misnomer” of controversy in the Dallas Cowboys backfield.
Holding court with the media on Friday, Prescott affirmed there is no power struggle between $90 million running back Ezekiel Elliott and budding star understudy Tony Pollard, who led the team in rushing amid its Week 2 conquest of the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Zeke has always been a very unselfish player and is going to do whatever it takes for this team’s success,” he said, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “So if there’s any misnomer about that, we probably should nix that and get rid of it now. He’s all about the team. He’s all about the brotherhood. He’s all about the team’s success. Obviously individual success is great, but it’s not about that. I’ll continue to credit him and just our whole offense as a whole, there’s a few guys on our team that are paid well and that never comes into play, that’s never what this game is about. We all want to see each other succeed, and that’s the lack of egos we have that is going to be a key to our success.”
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Zeke Comfortable Sharing Workload?
Through two games, Pollard has demonstrated the ability to do more (123 ground yards) with less (16 carries) than Elliott (27 carries, 104 yards). The 2019 fourth-round pick is a threat to score each time he touches the football, big-play potential that Zeke — now in his sixth season — hasn’t replicated.
Interestingly enough, despite the imminent threat to his workhorse status, Elliott parroted the aforementioned “B”-word when forced to discuss what some consider a changing of the guard in the Cowboys’ hierarchy.
“It’s a brotherhood,” Elliott insisted Thursday, via NFL.com. “Every week we’ve all got the same goal, the same common goal and that’s to go win football games. However we’ve got to do that, that’s what we’re going to have to do. I’m happy to see Tony. I see the work he puts in. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team and he’s very talented. He deserves to go out there and play well.”
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Elliott Takes Aim at Contract Critics
To little surprise, Elliott’s naysayers are fueling their case against the two-time NFL rushing champ by citing his bloated contract, the richest-ever for his position, which Dallas guaranteed through 2022. He’s aware of the criticism — it’s nearly impossible to ignore — but remains unbothered by those not named Jerry Jones.
“You hear it, but what really matters is what’s going on in this building. They’re not the ones signing the checks, they’re not the ones sending the wires, so I don’t think it matters,” Elliott laughed Thursday, per the team’s official website.
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