Dallas Cowboys 2022 NFL preseason round-up: most valuable sports franchise, Ezekiel Elliott, kicker competition…
The competitions are heating up in practices and the pads are coming on today as Cowboys training camp continues and we get a better look at the defense.
Cowboys named most valuable sports franchise
Are we surprised? Not really. The Dallas Cowboys were named the most valuable sports franchise at $7.64 billion, according to Sportico. To compare it, the average NFL team is worth around $4.1 billion. The Denver Broncos were just sold at a record price of $4.65 billion, so that should give you some perspective. Jerry Jones said he would never sell the Cowboys, but it looks like if he did, he’d be sitting prett(ier). The second-most valuable NFL team is the Los Angeles Rams, valued at $5.91 billion and the second-most valuable sports franchise is the New York Yankees at $7.01 billion.
Jerry Jones insists Ezekiel Elliott should be the focus - Emmitt Smith agrees
While talks of this being Ezekiel Elliott’s last year with the Cowboys dominated the media during the offseason, Jerry Jones says at least this year, “Zeke’s gotta be our feature”. The Cowboys owner insisted that Zeke should remain the lead running back, ahead of Tony Pollard, indicating we should see more two-back sets in the 2022 season as opposed to last year.
“We can feature him in a lot of different ways,” said Jones. “We all recognize what he does in the passing game because of his protection ability. Don’t ever underestimate that especially with Zeke. Zeke takes some tolls when he’s out there as a back blocking. So it’s critical that we make Zeke -- because he’s capable of being that -- really the focus of what we’re doing. Now then, Pollard, there’s plenty of room for Pollard. There’s plenty of room for Pollard when Zeke’s in there. Pollard needs to get the ball.”
Last season, Zeke had just 13.9 carries per game, a career-low. After his knee injury later in the season, it just got worse. Pollard, on the other hand, set a career-high in carries with 130, plus career-highs in rush yards (719) and scrimmage yards (1,056). For that reason, Jones’ comments received some backlash from fans. Former Cowboys running back and HOFer Emmitt Smith agrees with Jones, though, and he knows what he’s talking about, even if he does come from a different era.
“There’s no doubt…Ezekiel Elliott is our number one guy and should be the focus of the entire offense,” said Smith.
Cowboys kicker competition
A very hopeful upgrade at kicker awaits the Cowboys after Greg Zuerlein’s departure. Zuerlein made only 88% of his point after touchdown kicks, sitting way down with the worst in the league last season. In training camp, the battle is on between Texas Tech’s Jonathan Garibay and former Falcons kicker Lirim Hajrullahu. Hajrullahu has more experience in the CFL than the NFL, and has had the advantage so far in camp. He went 7-8, missing just one, too wide at 47 yards. Garibay, on the other hand, went just 4-8 and missed from the 44, 45, 47, and 50. There’s still a lot of camp left, but Hajrullah took an early lead in this competition.
Defensive end Takk McKinley works out with the ‘Boys
There will finally be a better opportunity to evaluate the defense starting today when the padded practices begin at Cowboys training camp. To add some potential to the growing d-line, the Cowboys worked out former Falcons and Browns DE Takk McKinley, Dann Quinn’s former first-round pick. In his 60 career games, McKinley has had 93 tackles and 20 sacks.
“Rod (Marinelli) was a huge fan, and we were too, of the way he plays the game -- play temperament, play style” said Jerry Jones. “And then of course the obvious: Dan coached him. We’ve got a lot of inside knowledge there, too. You can’t have enough guys who can rush the passer.”
Jerry Jones’ advice to Kelvin Joseph after shooting
Cornerback Kelvin Joseph was acquitted in the murder trial for a 20-year-old man who was the victim of a shooting from a car in which Joesph was a passenger. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones shared his concerns about having a player so close to such a horrific crime. He had a message to Joseph in giving him a second chance.
“We obviously don’t need our players to be involved in situations that make this come up about your character,” Jones said. “He needs to be a good player on and off the field and we’re going to give him a chance to do that. Now get in here and be a good player, be a guy everybody depends on, and make your name in a positive way and clean it up.”