“Oh yeah, you always want JK back,” agrees Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones.
But there is always a business side to the NFL, and placing players on a roster is about more than just wish and choice.
Shortly after Stephen Jones said he wanted Zeke back with the team this year, he hinted at financial issues that could make it difficult for Elliott to return for his eighth season in Dallas.
“We want him back, but do the numbers work?” Jones asked rhetorically. “It’s a tough business sometimes and I think he knows that. I think I’ve seen him quote that. But we have to talk about business.”
Zeke is reportedly willing to take a pay cut, possibly reducing his $10.9 million base salary for 2023. Right now, he’s projected to count $16.7 million against the cap. If the Cowboys release him before June 1, they will save about $5 million on the cap but about $12 million if designated as a post-June 1 cut.
Issues for the Cowboys include re-signing Tony Pollard, who, despite suffering a broken fibula and high-ankle sprain, will require either a huge salary or even the franchise tag of $10.1 million.
Can the Cowboys realistically work to keep both players? Jerry Jones says there’s always a way if they choose to do it.
“When we ask a question about whether something is financially feasible, any one thing … is any two things,” Jones said. “But all of that affects what you can do in other places. That’s how we make our decisions.”
The Cowboys have several unrestricted free agents they want to keep, including Donovan Wilson, Leighton Vander Esch, Connor McGovern, Anthony Brown and Cooper Rush, along with Pollard and Dalton Schultz.
But still, Zeke seems to be on the players’ priority list, especially coming off a 12-touchdown season that saw him score rushing TDs in nine straight games, the second-longest streak in Cowboys history.
Zeke rushed for 876 yards despite missing two games due to injury. It marked the first time in his career that he did not lead the team in rushing as Pollard went for a career-high 1,007 yards to earn his first Pro Bowl selection.
But with Jake, Stephen and Jerry Jones both said there are parts of his game that go beyond the stat sheet that make it difficult to evaluate.
“The more you look at what he brings to the table, the better Jay looks, we can review what the season was,” Jerry Jones said. “I don’t want to talk about Jake until we’ve had the opportunity to really evaluate our entire season. But I do know this, without even seeing an evaluation, that Jake had a lot more growth than our success. His rushing yards indicate that. I believe.”
Stephen Jones says he understands fans are more excited about Pollard’s game, but Jake’s contributions cannot go unnoticed.
“JK is a blue-collar guy and his competitiveness and what he brings. You can’t define it with stats. That’s how we look at it,” Stephen Jones said. “Jake is amazing in terms of what he’s had here with the Cowboys and his tenure. It’s hard to define. Like I said, Tony is a fan guy. You see Flash and you see Ross. Jake is a blue-collar guy who brings things to the table. What’s coming is hard to define.”
But the NFL really is a business. And over the next few weeks, the Cowboys must figure out a way to define Zeke’s value and if it works to bring him back.
