How are Dallas Cowboys teammates reacting to the holdout of star RB Ezekiel Elliott?
The Cowboys first three days of training camp are a glorified OTA practice.
The team is not permitted to wear pads, according to NFL rules.
Not exactly ideal. But it did prompt this gem from Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians: “I am looking for the football players that show up now, not the soccer players. There are a lot of guys who are great in shorts and then the noise level goes up and they kind of disappear. We are going to look for football players now.”
The Cowboys won’t start finding out who the real football players are until the pads come on.
That said, here are five things we learned about the team on Day 1 of camp:
The Cowboys had nothing bad to say about Ezekiel Elliott and his holdout
There was nothing but love, support and understanding for running back Ezekiel Elliott and his holdout from training camp.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence had the quote of the day when asked if he had any advice for Elliott.
“I’ve got some for you,” Lawrence said. “Let Zeke handle his business and don’t ask me about another man’s business.”
It wasn’t lost on quarterback Dak Prescott that when the players did answer questions about Elliott that they were all positive.
“It says a lot about Zeke because he’s a guy that comes in each and every day and does things the right way,” Prescott said. “As I said, we’re not worried about him because we know wherever he is, he’s doing things the right way. He’s getting himself ready. We’re not worried. He’s a professional. He takes care of his business when it comes to this game. That’s something we’re all thankful for. And this team, it just shows our camaraderie. Shows the brotherhood that we’ve created over the years for the guys that have been here and then the guys in the spring that have come in and been thankful to be part of this.
“We’ve got a great team. And it’s because we’ve got a lot of great people off the field. We stay tight-knit and when we come on the field, things are easier.”
Veteran tight end Jason Witten said he wasn’t worried because the Cowboys usually work things out. Talk to him in a month, he said.
“I believe eventually he’ll get here,” Witten said. “I don’t worry about that from that standpoint. Zeke loves playing. He loves being around the guys. He’s like a little kid the way he kind of approaches and has fun. He wants to be out here. It’s part of these things that work out. It’s not easy when you go through that. Talk to me in a month. I guess if that was an issue if he wasn’t there. Right now, I know he’s working through that. We’d love to see him out here, but we’ll see how it plays out.”
Cowboys get scare when DT Trysten Hill left in cart
The Cowboys got their first scare of training camp when rookie defensive tackle Trysten Hill left practice in a golf cart with the trainers.
But it proved to be just precautionary as the second round pick from Central Florida was cramping and suffering from dehydration.
Vice president Stephen Jones said Hill was probably going too fast on the first day out of eagerness.
Safety Xavier Woods missed the first two days of camp having a baby
Safety Xavier Woods was a no-show at the start of training camp because his wife was having a baby. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Woods communicated with him throughout the process regarding the due dates. He said it’s important for players to be around for the special moments with their family.
“He had a baby on Thursday. He’s going to come out tomorrow. Mom and baby apparently are doing well, “Garrett said. “He’s communicated with us. We anticipate him being around on Sunday.”
Free agent safety George Iloka opens camp with the third team
With Xavier Woods absent on Saturday, it was interesting to note that Darian Thompson started in his place at safety opposite Jeff Heath.
Even more interesting was that veteran free agent addition George Iloka opened camp working with the third team.
Iloka was signed to compete with Heath for the starting spot at strong safety. Heath held down the starting job throughout the offseason and remains firmly entrenched so far.
The coaches feel that Iloka will start to flash when the pads come on.
But third team?
Secondary coach Kris Richard said Iloka is new to the team and he has to earn his spot.
“He has to pay his dues,” Richard said. “Everything right now is written in pencil. So you can take an eraser and wipe that thing out. They are all interchangeable. It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”
If Iloka doesn’t earn it by the start of the regular season, he could be a casualty on final cuts.
Thompson is an intriguing option. He is former a third round pick by the New York Giants in 2016.
He started all 16 games for the Giants in 2017, finishing with 75 tackles, six pass breakups and one interception. But he was cut from camp last season.
He appeared in 10 games for the Cowboys in 2018 after he was claimed off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad.
DE DeMarcus Lawrence will be ready for the start of the season, no need to rush
Cornerback Byron Jones and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence were placed on the physically unable to perform list to start training camp, as expected.
Lawrence had surgery on his left shoulder in April, after signing his five-year, $105 million contract, and Jones had hip surgery in March.
Neither are expected to do anything during the Cowboys three-week stay in training camp in California.
They may start to work back in when the Cowboys return to Dallas, but the goal has always been for them to be ready for the opener.
“All indications are we’ll get Byron and DeMarcus for Week One,” Jones said. “Right now, we’re not counting on not having anyone missing for Week One.”
Lawrence said there is no need to rush. He will be ready when it’s time.
“I have a date in my mind when I’m going to be ready, and that’s the season opener,” Lawrence said. “I’m not saying I’m going to overload my workload for the season opener or what they want to do with me or have me off the PUP list by the season opener, but hopefully be ready by the season opener.”
Defensive end Tyrone Crawford and receiver Noah Brown were also placed on the PUP list but their stays should be shorter. Brown is recovering from offseason arthroscopic knee surgery, and Crawford had hip surgery.
Linebacker Chris Covington was placed on the non-football injury list after injuring his hamstring during the conditioning test Friday. He should be ready to go soon.
This story was originally published July 28, 2019 at 11:28 AM.
