The Dallas Cowboys opened their training camp without Ezekiel Elliott. Jason Witten, who returned to the team after retiring in 2018, realizes how important Elliott is.

While talking to the media on Saturday, Jason Witten said Ezekiel Elliott is a huge part of the team. The Cowboys have lofty expectations in 2019 but they know they need Elliott if they want to achieve those expectations.

“He’s a huge part of this football team,” Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said of Elliott. “He has been since day one, minute one. I’ve had a great relationship with Zeke over the years. He’s a smart football player, a great guy, the charisma that he brings for his football team.

The Cowboys running back has avoided training camp in an attempt to land a long-term deal with the organization. His holdout has put Dallas in quite the predicament; it also needs to sign Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper.

Nonetheless, Elliott is likely the most important player that the Cowboys need to sign. The whole offense goes through Elliott and his play makes everyone around him better.

In his three seasons in the NFL, only a six-game suspension in 2017 stopped him from having three-straight seasons of over 1,000 rushing yards. Even with the suspension, Elliott needed just 17 yards to reach 1,000 yards on the ground.

Last season was Elliott's most productive season in terms of being a dual-threat back. He touched the ball 381 times and gained over 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

Despite Elliott's holdout, Jason Witten understands that the team needs Elliott back if it hopes to reach its ultimate goal in 2019.