Jones: Zeke a 'cornerstone player' for Cowboys
It looks like the Dallas Cowboys are letting bygones be bygones.
After a lengthy holdout from Ezekiel Elliott, the team held a press conference Thursday to officially announce the running back's six-year, $90-million contract extension. During the presser, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones praised his All-Pro tailback.
"It goes without saying that he's a cornerstone player for the Dallas Cowboys," Jones said, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. "We're all proud to have him."
Jones also shut down the notion the team would have let Elliott sit out regular-season games, emphasizing the importance his team placed on reaching an agreement before the campaign began.
"We did put a big ol' circle around (it)," he said of Dallas' Week 1 matchup with the New York Giants, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic.
Elliott sat with Jones and his son Stephen, the team's CEO, during the noticeably upbeat presser. The elder Jones cracked jokes and even did an impression of Ron Washington:
Jerry Jones did his best Ron Washington on the Zeke negotiations: "This is the way contracts go. This is the way baseball. Then when it go right, it go boom boom boom"
- Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) September 5, 2019
Elliott himself seemed to be over any bad blood that may have arisen during negotiations, proudly holding up a "That's Who!" T-shirt with Jones in reference to the controversial joke the latter made in late August:
"Zeke who?" pic.twitter.com/0DzbAr4At5
- Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 5, 2019
The 24-year-old then went further in his commitment to the city of Dallas, announcing a $100,000 donation to the Salvation Army for the construction of a local facility.
A two-time rushing champion, Elliott's amassed 4,048 rushing yards since entering the league in 2016 - more than any other back over that span. He'll join his teammates at AT&T Stadium to kick off the season against the Giants on Sunday.
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