The Dallas Cowboys’ Extreme Lack of Foresight is Haunting Them

Ezekiel Elliott’s Unnecessary Extension

Byron Jones is expected to set the market at CB, and while a case can be made he’s not worthy of such a distinction, the reality of the ever-growing market demand says otherwise. The Dallas Cowboys like Byron Jones but with so many players set to hit free agency, Jones is the odd man out. The Cowboys say they can’t afford to keep everyone and tough decisions must be made.

What does this have to do with Ezekiel Elliott? He got Jones’ money. Two seasons before the Dallas Cowboys had to do anything with Zeke, they made him the highest paid running back in the NFL. The Cowboys, obsessed with the here and now, caved to Zeke’s holdout last preseason and gifted him a franchise-crippling extension.

Again, Zeke was under contract for two more seasons.

I could go into how crazy it is to pay a running back money on second contract, and how Zeke’s early down runs hurt the Cowboys more than helped them (they were often statistically in worse shape after a Zeke run than they were before). But that’s a conversation for another day. The point is Zeke wasn’t going to miss game checks and they gave him money they didn’t have to give him.