The Dallas Cowboys are prepared to start the 2019 regular season without running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Owner Jerry Jones said during a radio interview Wednesday at later in the day at the team’s annual kickoff luncheon that there’s no deadline on a deal and there’s been no new developments in negotiations between the two sides.
“We have to be prepared to play without any given player,” Jones told 105.3 FM (The Fan) on Wednesday. “We played without players for suspension. We played without them for injury. That’ll happen again this year. And we may very well play without a player that is not coming in on his contract. If that’s the case, we’ll just play and we’ll play well. We’ve got, I think, a very talented team coming together.”
Elliott’s holdout is now in its second month. He declined to show up for training camp in Oxnard, Calif. and instead trained on his own in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Tony Pollard, a rookie from Memphis, has assumed Elliot’s role in the offense and team officials have been pleased with his performance.
Jones said Wednesday he’s not worried about the potential of Elliott missing some games.
“We've got a marathon here,” Jones told The Fan. “And we want Zeke when we get to the playoffs. We want Zeke when we're in the dog days of this season.”
Jones later told reporters at the luncheon that Zeke will get on the field eventually.
“If he's not there early, he'll be there late,”' Jones said. “We'll take him any game we can get him.”
The Cowboys’ preseason concludes Thursday evening at AT&T Stadium with a game against Tampa Bay. It’s season opener is Sunday, Sept. 8 vs the New York Giants at 3:15 p.m. on FOX4.