Ezekiel Elliott holdout could potentially benefit Eagles in big way

The longer Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout lasts, the more it could benefit the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2019 season.

Despite how great the Philadelphia Eagles look on paper, Doug Pederson and company realize the NFC East is far from a guarantee, especially if Ezekiel Elliott ends up with another big season for the Dallas Cowboys.

For the second time in three seasons, the Cowboys finished on top of the NFC East last year, although the Eagles were still at least able to earn the final Wild Card spot in the NFC playoff picture.

Still, when looking at how competitive the rest of the NFC is turning out heading into the 2019 season, Philadelphia’s best chances of earning a trip to the playoffs for a third year in a row could depend on whether they finish on top of the division.

Even though the Washington Redskins are built to compete as well, the Eagles and Cowboys appear to be the early favorites in the NFC East, as one can only imagine what 2019 will have in store for these rivals.

With that being said, while Philadelphia has been able to avoid most of the drama related to contract situations, Dallas is dealing with an unfortunate situation of their own in Elliott holding out from training camp.

It’s still early, but the fact that Elliott is absent from the start of training camp is the last thing the Cowboys want to be dealing with at the moment since their beloved running back will once again play a key role in the team’s success this year.

While Dallas may appear to have the advantage since Elliott does have two years remaining on his rookie deal, the fact that he’s scheduled to make $3.85 million in base salary for 2019 shows how underpaid he truly is.

Don’t believe so? Well, Elliott’s 5,247 yards from scrimmage with 34 touchdowns since 2016 shows just how special of a running back he really is.

And while the Cowboys have reasons to be hesitant towards rewarding Elliott with a hefty contract since running backs in the NFL tend to get worn down faster than other positions, at least this holdout obviously benefits the Eagles.

The longer Elliott holds out, the more this becomes a distraction for the Cowboys leading up to the official start of the 2019 season in September.

But assuming that Elliott shows up at some point over the next couple of weeks, at least no matter what happens, the Eagles will be ready for that first meeting against their rivals late in October.