Cowboys' Stephen Jones Talks Zeke Elliott, Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper Contracts

The Dallas Cowboys agreed to a new mega deal with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence this offseason, but a number of key players will be due for major contract extension in the near future, including quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones spoke about those pending negotiations during an appearance on the Pro Football Talk Live podcast (h/t Grant Gordon of NFL.com):

"Well, I think those are all a work in progress. Certainly we've got a couple years there with Zeke to get that done. We certainly want to get him done. He's the straw, if you will, that stirs our drink. He's a key part of what we're about. Those things take time to get done. They don't happen overnight. Certainly he's a priority in terms of ultimately getting him signed. There hasn't really been a timetable put on this."

While the Cowboys picked up the fifth-year option on Elliott, keeping him under contract through the 2020 season, both Prescott and Cooper will be eligible to become free agents after this season. It's hard to imagine the Cowboys won't re-sign both players, or at the very least negotiate a long-term extension with one of them and use the franchise tag on the other next offseason. 

Keeping the trio of Prescott, Elliott and Cooper together for the long haul is vital for Dallas. It just won't come cheap.