DALLAS - As the Dallas Cowboys return to Dallas from Hawaii, set to resume practice at the Star on Tuesday, holdout running back Ezekiel Elliott is headed back to Cabo San Lucas not in the best of spirits.
Elliott and his agent Rocky Arceneaux are miffed at a joke owner Jerry Jones made at Elliott's expense following Saturday's 14-10 victory against the Los Angeles Rams.
Asked if rookie Tony Pollard's impressive play was helping him with the Elliott negotiations, Jones quipped, "Zeke who?" to roaring laughter.
Elliott and his agent didn't share in the fun.
"I didn't think it was funny and neither did Zeke - we actually thought it was disrespectful," Arceneaux told ESPN's Chris Mortenson.
A source confirmed Elliott's unhappiness with the joke and said things could get interesting in the next few days.
Jones, however, did apologize for the joke on the spot and acknowledged that Elliott was a big part of their plans with Pollard working with him and not as a replacement for him.
"If he continues this in the next several weeks he is going to be right in the middle of it early," Jones said of Pollard. "That will really complement what we are doing with Zeke. Not replace him. We are not being cute here. But a great complement to have a great running game. I can picture those guys in the same sets at the same time and really giving the defense fits."
Additionally, Elliott and the Cowboys have not made any progress in contract talks and have had little communication over the last couple of weeks, according to a source.