The Dallas Cowboys and running back Ezekiel Elliott are aiming to wrap up a new deal by the end of the weekend, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. As Schefter notes, “talks between the Cowboys and RB Ezekiel Elliott are intensifying.”

The report comes off the heels of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones saying that he accepts Elliott will miss games while ongoing contract talks stalled as the team didn't offer Elliott the deal he envisioned. On Friday, Jones also mentioned that he doubts players honor of their contracts, saying on 1053 The Fan per The Athletic's Jon Mochota:

“If we do a new contract, what’s to assure us that this time next year or three months later, we won’t be talking about another contract? If we’re not gonna honor contracts?”

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Jones, as recently as this week, recognized the moot point in contract talks between the two sides and only wished for the superstar running back to be back in the playoffs. He said, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

“We’ve got a marathon here. We want Zeke when we get to the playoffs. We want Zeke when we’re in the dog days of the season.”

Jones' comments indicated that the two sides were far apart in negotiations, but that appears to be false. With Schefter's latest report, Elliott may not miss anytime and will make the push for the playoffs that much more intense. It once looked like Tony Pollard will start Week 1 against the New York Giants, now it seems like a perennial Pro Bowler will be.