The Dallas Cowboys are one of just two teams that have yet to require either rookies or veterans to report to training camp. That will all change on Friday, but for now, anybody not currently at the facility isn't supposed to be there yet anyway. 

When the Cowboys travel together to Oxnard, California on Thursday to prepare for Friday's opening of camp, Dallas coach Jason Garrett expects all to be present and accounted for -- including running back Ezekiel Elliott, despite burbling rumors that Elliott might hold out for a contract extension. 

Elliott is heading into the final season of his rookie contract, though the Cowboys do have the ability to retain him for the 2020 season on his fifth-year option. 

He has been in the league for three years and has led the NFL in both rush attempts and rushing yards twice. In the other season, he led the NFL in rushing yards per game but did not lead in total rushing yards because he had to serve a six-game suspension for violating the league's domestic violence policy. 

In other words, he is a very, very good football player, and perhaps the best player in the league at his position. But several factors complicate a potential extension for Elliott. 

First, he's a running back, and the league just does not value running backs all that highly anymore. They tend to have shorter careers than players at other positions; they are generally more easily replaced than players at other positions; and the thing they do most often (run the ball) is generally not an efficient play. 

Second, the Cowboys have several other players with more pressing contractual situations. Dallas does not have team control over Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, Byron Jones, or Jaylon Smith beyond this year. Those contracts will presumably take priority over Elliott's just due to that timing. Three of those players (Prescott, Cooper, and Jones) play positions that are significantly more important than running back, which makes it even more likely they would be prioritized over Elliott. 

Third, Elliott has continued to get himself into trouble off the field. In addition to the domestic violence suspension, he has been involved in an alleged bar fight, pulled down a woman's shirt at a parade without her consent, been spotted at a marijuana dispensary, and most recently, shoved a security guard to the ground outside of a music festival. Committing big, long-term money to a player who has shown an inability to stay off the NFL's personal conduct radar is not necessarily a prudent move. 

Lastly, the Cowboys need only look to the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year to see how quickly you can come to regret a contract extension handed out to even the best of running backs. The Rams signed Todd Gurley to an extension after his third season in the league (i.e. where Elliott is right now) and it already looks like a bad deal, thanks to Gurley's knee injury that hampered him over the second half of last season. Elliott has been extremely durable during his career, but handling as large a workload as he does can be taxing, and makes it more likely that he will break down sooner or later. 

All of these factors make a deal coming together this offseason unlikely to begin with, which in turn likely reduces the odds of a holdout. So perhaps it's not surprising that Garrett expects Elliott to be there with the rest of the team when they report to camp.