When the NFL suspended Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2015, owner Robert Kraft decided that discretion is the better part of valor. With the NFL suspending Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, owner Jerry Jones may decide to go to the mattresses.
Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Jones is “considering all options.”
Elliott can appeal the suspension, and he can sue to block or delay it. For the Cowboys generally, there’s not much that can be done.
Officially. Unofficially, Jones can do plenty. He reportedly accosted verbally NFL investigative chief Lisa Friel last October regarding the situation, and it’s been believed for months that Jones has made it clear to the league office that he won’t be as compliant as Kraft was, if Elliott is suspended.
During an owners-only meeting in March, Jones (as PFT reported) raised concerns about the league’s marijuana policy, the league’s habit of conducting its own investigations, and the procedures for determining Commissioner compensation. Since then, Stephen and/or Jerry Jones publicly have acknowledged concerns as to the first two issues. The Elliott suspension could provide the impetus for Jones to make a more direct attack on the wages to be paid to Roger Goodell after his current contract expires in two years.
Jones could even take it one step farther, trotting out his own candidate(s) to “take the league to the next level” (or something far more folksy and/or mosquito-circumcisey).
However it plays out, Jones has seen one of his necessarily shrinking opportunities for gloryhole scrapped. If he can’t win games this year, look for him to try to win revenge instead.