Ezekiel Elliott & DeMarcus Lawrence Possible Holdout Candidates For Cowboys

Sources tell Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram that the longer the Cowboys wait to sign RB Ezekiel Elliott and DE DeMarcus Lawrence to long-term extensions, the greater the risk of the two holding out.

Hill mentions that if Dallas elects to franchise Lawrence for the second straight year, they shouldn’t expect to see him for OTAs or training camp.

This comes a few days after Lawrence posted “your move” in reference to a Cowboys’ tweet.

As for Elliott, he’s under contract for another two seasons and could be targeting a similar contract to the four-year, $60 million deal the Rams gave Todd Gurley last year.

Dallas has a fifth-year option to pick up on Elliott and could always franchising him after that, but it sets up a potential holdout situation if there’s no deal in place before offseason workouts.

Elliott, 23, was taken with the No. 4 overall pick by the Cowboys back in May. He signed four-year contract worth $24,956,342, which includes a signing bonus of $16,350,068.

Elliott stands to make a base salary of $3.85 million for the 2019 season. The agreement also includes a fifth-year option for the team to pick up in April.

In 2018, Elliott appeared in 15 games for the Cowboys and rushed for 1,434 yards on 304 carries (4.7 YPC) to go along with 77 receptions for 567 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.

Lawrence, 26, is a former second-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Boise State. He finished a four-year rookie contract before the Cowboys used their franchise tag on him several months ago.

The franchise tag will cost Dallas around $17.5 million fully guaranteed for the 2018 season.

In 2018, Lawrence appeared in all 16 games for the Cowboys and recorded 64 tackles, 10.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles, a recovery and a pass defense. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 9 overall edge defender out of 103 qualifying players.

We have him featured in our Top 50 – 2019 NFL Free Agents list.