Can Cowboys survive a potential Elliott suspension?
RB could be suspended under NFL’s personal conduct policy
FIRST . . .
OXNARD, Calif. — The rise of the Dallas Cowboys last season came thanks in large part to the exploits of their prized rookies, quarterback Dak Prescott and tailback Ezekiel Elliott. And the team's hopes to take things a step further this season, reaching - and perhaps winning - a Super Bowl, are pinned to the belief that Prescott and Elliott are built-to-last superstars who will provide a suitably spectacular Year 2 encore.
So what happens if the Cowboys are forced to open the season without Elliott?
It is an unsavory question for the franchise, given owner Jerry Jones's contention that Elliott should not be suspended by the NFL under its personal conduct policy. But it is an issue with which the Cowboys potentially must come to grips.
Jones said here Saturday at the team's training camp that Elliott had met with league officials within the past month as part of the NFL's investigative process. That means, according to Jones, that “everything is in place” for the league to make a disciplinary decision about Elliott, who has been under investigation since an incident last year involving his thengirlfriend.
Elliott did not face criminal charges but still could be disciplined by the league. ESPN reported in recent weeks that Elliott and his representatives are braced for a suspension of possibly one to two games.
The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl last season despite playing without quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of the regular season while he served his Deflategate suspension. The Patriots went 3-1 in those games, success that bolstered the value of backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and reinforced the X's-and-O's wizardry of Coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Belichick and McDaniels found a way to get one victory with rookie Jacoby Brissett at quarterback after Garoppolo was hurt.
For the Cowboys to thrive without Elliott, a greater burden would fall on Prescott and on the team's defense. The team's powerful offensive line would have to play its part in keeping the running game productive without Elliott, who led the NFL in rushing last season as a rookie.
The Cowboys' first two games of the regular season are at home against the New York Giants and at Denver. Both ranked in the top 10 last season in total defense.
Dallas added veteran running back Ronnie Hillman to the roster last week and already had Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris.
McFadden has had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons in the NFL, one for the Oakland Raiders in 2010 and one for the Cowboys in 2015. Morris had three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons for the Washington Redskins between 2012 and 2014.
“I think we've got depth at the running back position,” Stephen Jones, the Cowboys' executive vice president and one of Jerry Jones's sons, said Sunday. “McFadden rushed for [more than 1,000] yards . . . the year before we had Zeke. Then, of course, we have Alfred Morris as well who's a proven 1,000-yard rusher. And then you just look to what's surrounding, the supporting cast around that running back position.
“We've got, we think, obviously one of the top, if not the top, offensive lines in the game. We've got a really solid receiving corps with Dez [Bryant] and Cole [Beasley] and Terrance [Williams], with some good depth in behind that. You look at an all-pro, Hall of Famer like Jason Witten who's going to be in that huddle. I just feel very confident that if there is a suspension - we hope there's not - that we'll certainly be able to, to use a Bill Parcells term, hold the fort and be successful with or without Zeke.”
Morris said over the weekend that nothing has changed about the training camp approach of the Cowboys' other running backs because of the uncertainty over Elliott's playing status.
. . . AND TEN
1. Jones and the Hall . . . The Cowboys face the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game. On Saturday, Jerry Jones will be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
“The NFL, the Cowboys, the game was very inspirational,” Jones said over the weekend. “I know that I have done better than what I would have been by being a part of the NFL and the Cowboys. It brought out the absolute very best that I could have ever even dreamed that I could be. It did it because I've just always been so excited and wanted to really not limit any aspect of what our team can be, what the league can be, and take it down every road that I had a chance to. It's caused me to be more imaginative. It's caused me to be more aggressive. . . . It's caused me to be more passionate. It's caused me to more liberated in what I'll try. All of that has inspired me.”
Jones does not envision himself slowing down anytime soon.
“We need to win,” he said. “We need to continue to build on this foundation, this base that we've got right now. We can't rest on our laurels as a team. I, for sure, can't rest on any laurels in my position. And so when I look at some of the opportunities ahead in the future as not only for the team but for the NFL, I see a brighter future. I see more opportunities than I did 29 years ago. And I want to be a part of it.”
Stephen Jones said Sunday that he believes his father has his speech for the ceremony just about ready to go.
“I've talked to him about it,” the younger Jones said. “I haven't heard it. I don't know if he's going to practice. He's not one of those, I think, that practices. A lot of it's pure emotion. He told me, 'I've limited all my stories.' I think he's got his house in order for it. He's certainly fired up for it.”
2. Jones on Kaepernick . . . Jerry Jones also was asked Saturday about the ongoing unemployment of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and the owner took the view that Kaepernick is not being blackballed for his political stance last season.
“I know this: I feel that every team in the National Football League makes every decision on players to win the ballgame,” Jones said. “And so if someone is not on a team, I would say that for whatever the reason, the decision-makers on all 32 teams are trying to pick them to win. And so I accept that. And if they're not out there, that's why they're not out there.”
3. Witten, no Romo . . . Witten reflected Saturday on being in the first Cowboys' training camp since Tony Romo, his friend and longtime quarterback, retired.
“It's different,” Witten said. “For 14 years, we were together. So that's different. I'm proud of how he handled it. I know he's excited for the next chapter. Over the years, 15 years here, you have a lot of good friends come and go. As I reflect - and really, this year was the first year that I kind of reflected - Doug Free, DeMarcus Ware and then, of course, Tony all retiring.
“I have an immense amount of pride, and it really puts a smile on my face thinking that the game of football provided relationships that I'll have for the rest of my life. Tony is certainly one of those that I'll have.”
Romo opted for the CBS broadcast booth over continuing to play. Stephen Jones said the Cowboys never closed the door completely on Romo returning to Dallas until Romo closed the door on playing.
4. Atmosphere in Oxnard . . . There was a terrific atmosphere at the Cowboys' practice Saturday. A large, lively crowd was on hand. Actors Omar Epps and Taylor Lautner were in attendance.
5. Elliott as receiver . . . Prescott said he expects Elliott to be more involved in the Dallas passing game this season as a receiver out of the backfield.
Elliott had 32 catches last season as a rookie.
“I think Zeke can get more catches this year without him playing more plays,” Prescott said. “I think that his ability with the ball in his hands is valuable to this offense. In our passing game, if the defense gives us soft coverages, just get it to him and let him do what's best. You see we've kind of given it to him out here a bunch already. It's just the fact of we're doing what the defense is giving us. It's not necessarily that we're calling plays extra to get Zeke the ball.”
6. First-round signings . . . So there was no Joey Bosa-like situation this summer, after all.
All of the players chosen in the opening round of this year's NFL draft were signed by Saturday, when wide receiver Corey Davis struck his deal with the Tennessee Titans. That came soon after the Raiders signed cornerback Gareon Conley and the 49ers struck a deal with defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.
The rookie compensation system put in place by the 2011 labor deal between the league and the players' union was designed not only to curb rookies' salaries but also to streamline the negotiating process to avoid contract disputes resulting in rookies showing up late to training camps. It has worked, for the most part. The contract staredown between Bosa and the Chargers that kept the thenrookie pass rusher out of training camp last year until late August has been the very, very rare exception.
Of course, given how well Bosa played last season as a rookie, the question becomes: Does it really matter that much?
7. Urschel's retirement . . . No one should be the least bit surprised by the retirement of Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel at age 26.
Was there any player in the league with a more promising future outside football than Urschel, who spent offseasons pursuing his doctorate in mathematics at MIT?
Yes, Urschel loved football. He made that clear.
But he also made it clear that he loves math, and his ability in that field is what promises to bring him professional success over the long term.
Urschel sustained a concussion in 2015, reportedly affecting his ability to perform complex math problems temporarily. His retirement last week came two days after the release of a study that found evidence of the degenerative brain disease CTE in 110 of 111 of the brains of former NFL players studied.
It was stunning when a successful young player such as 49ers linebacker Chris Borland walked away from the sport in 2015.
In Urschel's case, two years later, it should be far from stunning.
8. Ravens' QB situation . . . The quarterback situation in Baltimore is interesting with starter Joe Flacco sidelined by a back issue, backup Ryan Mallett generating headlines with his practice-field interceptions and Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III have been mentioned as possible additions.
It really depends on how confident the Ravens truly are about the soundness of Flacco's back. They and Flacco say the injury is no big deal. If that indeed is the case, the urgency for having a backup capable of thriving as a more-than-temporary starter decreases.
But if there are significant behindthe-scenes worries about Flacco, signing Kaepernick would be the sensible move. He had 16 touchdown passes and four interceptions last season for the 49ers. He makes more sense as a starter than Mallett or Griffin. He played for Jim Harbaugh, the brother of Ravens Coach John Harbaugh, in San Francisco. He would give the Ravens a better chance to keep a significant injury to Flacco from sabotaging their season entirely.