Report: Cowboys offer to make Ezekiel Elliott NFL’s second highest-paid RB

The Dallas Cowboys have reportedly upped the ante when it comes to holdout running back Ezekiel Elliott.

According to veteran NFL reporter Ed Werder, Dallas has offered to make Elliott the second highest-paid player at his position in the NFL.

Sources: The most recent offer in negotiations between holdout Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys came from the team. Elliott has been offered a contract making him one of the NFL’s 2 highest-paid RB. That would suggest team offering more than LeVeon Bell and less than Todd Gurley.

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) August 22, 2019

As Werder notes, Dallas’ offer to Elliott comes in at more than what the Jets gave Le’Veon Bell. It’s also less than the extension the Los Angeles Rams signed Todd Gurley to last year.

Simple math tells us that the offer is somewhere between $13.2 million and $14-plus million annually.

At this point, it’s hard to envision Elliott accepting said offer. He wants to be the highest-paid running back in the NFL. That would mean surpassing the $14.38 million Gurley is earning annually.

Elliott remains away from the Cowboys as they prepare for the regular season. Things have been contentious between the two sides.

At the very least, the Cowboys’ offer does come close to resetting the running back market. That should be seen as a good sign.