How close is Ezekiel Elliott to a contract extension and a Cowboys uniform on Monday?

How close is Ezekiel Elliott to a contract extension and a Cowboys uniform on Monday?

FRISCO - Amid "new' reports of movement between holdout running back Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys, the centerpiece of conversation is unchanged: As we reported at the start of the week, Zeke is in receipt of a new contract extension offer from the Cowboys that a source close to the negotiations tells us would put his new annual salary “close to the Todd Gurley range.”

I first reported this story on Tuesday morning along with Jonathon Shipman on 105.3 The Fan. And despite ESPN's "new'' report, the facts of our Tuesday scoop still stand.

Here's the news Dallas has wanted: Talks between the Cowboys and RB Ezekiel Elliott are intensifying, with both sides aiming to wrap up a new deal this weekend, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019

Schefter's report isn't wrong. Quite the contrary; It's just late ...

My original report on @1053thefan last Friday with @1053SS and @rjchoppy was that it would be done by this weekend at the latest. I’m just glad this will all be over soon so we can all shut up and focus on football 😂

— Shippy (@ShippySpins) August 31, 2019

The Cowboys as of a month ago were willing to pay Elliott more than the Jets’ Le’Veon Bell ($13 mil APY) but less than the Rams’ Gurley ($14 mil APY).

How significant is the movement from Dallas? That is in the eye of the beholder. Amid breathless reports that Elliott had “turned down the offer(s) ... well, that’s self-evident, as otherwise he’d have already been in uniform in Frisco.

But now, as the clock ticks? Smart money notes that Dallas' next practice is Monday at 10:45 a.m. here at The Star ... and we think by then Zeke will have a pen in his hand and a helmet at the ready. 

Elliott wants to be a “Cowboy for life,” as he recently told Maxim magazine. But he also wants more than just “close” to Gurley’s APY; the two-time NFL rushing champ seeks money that would make him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. Part of that desire includes surpassing Gurley’s other contractual numbers ($60 million total with $45 million guaranteed); two sources tell us that Dallas has less of a problem with that first number than it does with the latter.

In other words, the Cowboys - who view Gurley’s contract as an outlier and a mistake - do not want to guarantee Elliott $45 million.

“I'm optimistic that we can get Zeke's deal done,” owner Jerry Jones said. “But we're gonna play football one way or the other."

It looks increasingly like the Dallas Cowboys are about to play football with Ezekiel Elliott.