Is the star running back still a critical part of the offense’s overall success?
But when you watch Elliott, do your eyes tell you this is the best back in the league, a valuable investment next year with an appropriate cap hit of $13.7 million and then $16.5 million in 2022? Or do you wonder if he’s more of a luxury item, a nice and occasionally productive asset to go with a team that is determined to throw for 5,000 yards a season?
This all takes us back to the negotiating of 2019 when the Cowboys talked tough, when vice president Stephen Jones said they were determined to hold him to Le’Veon Bell’s contract and not Todd Gurley’s and then — before the season began — gave him more than either one.