Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has been in CeeDee Lamb’s shoes and didn’t mince words when asked his advice for the star wide receiver currently staying away from Oxnard, Calif. and training camp in search of a new deal.
“It’s really tough,’’ Elliott said of the criticism that comes from staging a holdout, via Sports Illustrated, be it from fans, media, or even those within the organization. “You go through your first three or four years and you guys are on the same side. This is the first time that now you’re kinda going against each other, so I mean, you’ve got to have thick skin.”
Elliott sat out all of training camp and the 2019 preseason while negotiating a long-term contract extension with the Cowboys before ultimately signing a six-year pact worth $90 million that summer.
Lamb, meanwhile, is currently set to play out the fifth-year option of his rookie contract while collecting $17.99 million this upcoming season.
Ezekiel Elliott’s Advice to CeeDee Lamb
With training camp underway, it remains to be seen just how committed the Cowboys are to making Lamb one of if not the highest-paid player at the receiver position, in an offseason that saw Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, and DeVonta Smith elevate the market to new heights.
According to Elliott, it can at times be difficult to prioritize your own interests while holding out, given all of the outside noise.
“You definitely feel an obligation, but that’s just being a great teammate and putting your best foot forward,’’ Elliott said, via The Dallas Morning News. “It sucks when the business part of the game comes up because, I don’t want to say it takes away, but you spend your whole career, your whole life, playing this game and you’ve never been through anything like this where you had to be away from the team to handle the business part.”
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