Rowdy
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- Mar 18, 2019
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When word first emerged of an Ezekiel Elliott holdout, some insisted that Elliott would show up before August 6 in order to receive what would have been his fourth year of credit toward free agency. Others (us) explained that the date meant nothing to Elliott, who cares far less about becoming a free agent and far more about getting a new contract — especially since he has two years left under his rookie deal.
August 6 has now come and gone, and Elliott didn’t cave. As expected.
The next question is whether Elliott would return in time to get credit for this year of his contract. Under the Joey Galloway ruling, Elliott would need to be available for the final eight games of the year in order to ensure that he’d get credit for the contract year. Given the availability of a roster exemption that could last as long as three weeks, and in light of the presence of a Week Eight bye, Elliott would need to return after Week Six in order to ensure that he’d be available for the final eight games of the season, if the Cowboys use the full roster exemption.
If Elliott waits beyond Week Seven, he runs the risk of an arbitrator ruling that he wasn’t on the roster long enough to get credit for the contract year. Although Elliott could still win, the safest approach would be to show up after Week Six — if he’s intent on getting credit for the contract year and ensuring that 2020 will be the final year of his rookie contract.