Running back Ezekiel Elliott is "late" to training camp and, as a non-report, can be subject to fines under the guidelines of the CBA, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Friday.
Elliott failed to join the majority of the team on a plane to Los Angeles Thursday for the start of camp, but he had until Friday morning to show before being considered late.
Jones did not use the word "holdout" to describe Elliott's status. "He's late," Jones said. "We have officially reported, and so he's a non-report officially.
"Zeke is an outstanding player. I don't want to seem cavalier about it, but I also don't want to be unrealistic being alarmed about it. This is what we do. This is the air we breathe. And if you flared and knee-jerked or went just because you have parts of it that need addressing, you wouldn't be able to manage. You wouldn't be functioning. I just want to put it in perspective."
The Cowboys had their conditioning run and physicals and held a team meeting Friday. Their first practice in Oxnard, California, is Saturday.
Elliott is seeking a new contract. He has two years left on his existing rookie deal.
"When you've done this as long as we've done it, none of this, there's no surprises," executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "We've been doing this for 30 years and so it's part of the game."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the coaching staff will focus on the players who arrived.
"We expect all of our players to be here," Garrett said. "Obviously Zeke is not here. Zeke's been a really good player for us over the last three years. Very impactful guy. Had a great offseason for us. There's a business to the NFL that happens. Our focus as a coaching staff, as an organization is on the guys who are here. It's really as simple as that."
Rumors have persisted for most of the offseason that Elliott would sit out camp in hopes of earning a long-term contract extension, but he did not miss a day of the voluntary offseason program or mandatory minicamp in June. Under his current contract, Elliott is set to make $3.85 million in 2019 and $9.09 million on the 2020 fifth-year option the team picked up in the spring.
The running backs on the Cowboys' roster not named Ezekiel Elliott have combined for six carries and 16 yards in their careers, all from Darius Jackson in last year's season finale. The other two are rookie draft picks Tony Pollard and Mike Weber.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27264340/zeke-officially-non-report-cowboys-camp
Elliott failed to join the majority of the team on a plane to Los Angeles Thursday for the start of camp, but he had until Friday morning to show before being considered late.
Jones did not use the word "holdout" to describe Elliott's status. "He's late," Jones said. "We have officially reported, and so he's a non-report officially.
"Zeke is an outstanding player. I don't want to seem cavalier about it, but I also don't want to be unrealistic being alarmed about it. This is what we do. This is the air we breathe. And if you flared and knee-jerked or went just because you have parts of it that need addressing, you wouldn't be able to manage. You wouldn't be functioning. I just want to put it in perspective."
The Cowboys had their conditioning run and physicals and held a team meeting Friday. Their first practice in Oxnard, California, is Saturday.
Elliott is seeking a new contract. He has two years left on his existing rookie deal.
"When you've done this as long as we've done it, none of this, there's no surprises," executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "We've been doing this for 30 years and so it's part of the game."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the coaching staff will focus on the players who arrived.
"We expect all of our players to be here," Garrett said. "Obviously Zeke is not here. Zeke's been a really good player for us over the last three years. Very impactful guy. Had a great offseason for us. There's a business to the NFL that happens. Our focus as a coaching staff, as an organization is on the guys who are here. It's really as simple as that."
Rumors have persisted for most of the offseason that Elliott would sit out camp in hopes of earning a long-term contract extension, but he did not miss a day of the voluntary offseason program or mandatory minicamp in June. Under his current contract, Elliott is set to make $3.85 million in 2019 and $9.09 million on the 2020 fifth-year option the team picked up in the spring.
The running backs on the Cowboys' roster not named Ezekiel Elliott have combined for six carries and 16 yards in their careers, all from Darius Jackson in last year's season finale. The other two are rookie draft picks Tony Pollard and Mike Weber.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27264340/zeke-officially-non-report-cowboys-camp
