Cowboys VP Stephen Jones Takes Shot at Ezekiel Elliott's Agent Amid Contract Controversy

The Ezekiel Elliott-Dallas Cowboys contract negotiations are going just about as poorly as possible, with the two parties now resorting to tossing insults back and forth.

Zeke's camp, including the running back himself and his agent Rocky Arceneaux, felt disrespected by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' "Zeke who?" comment following Tony Pollard's excellent preseason performance (after which Jones clarified the team needed Zeke and elaborated on the fact that he has the "right" to joke with his star running back).

Cowboys VP Stephen Jones continued the war of words with Arceneaux, drawing battle lines with some serious shade.

There's no walking that back. The gloves are off and the bell has rung. Let's fight.

This is an extremely dangerous game to play for Jones and the Cowboys. If Elliott is loyal to Arceneaux and has no plans of changing representation, then Jones might have just burned the only bridge that would have led to an Elliott contract extension.

There's a fine line between playing hardball and not flinching on potential contract terms and getting dirty by calling out the character of those close to the player you are trying to sign, and Jones emphatically crossed it.

Unless "insult the disgruntled player's agent" is the magic ingredient that brings Zeke back to the Cowboys, this may not be a wise strategy.