Tony Romo says Ezekiel Elliott is a good kid, needs grace period

— -- FRISCO, Texas -- Even though Tony Romo played in just one series last season for the Dallas Cowboys because of a back injury suffered in a preseason game, he developed a strong relationship with Ezekiel Elliott. Based on that, he thinks the young running back should be given some room to figure things out.

"With Zeke, he's a friend and I know he's a good kid and he's just trying to find his way," Romo said on the "Ben and Skin Show," on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Thursday. "He's going to be in a position that's always going to be in the spotlight. People are going to take photos. They're going to talk about it."

The quarterback-turned-broadcaster did say Elliott has made some mistakes over the past 12 months -- including a domestic violence accusation, an alleged assault and a speeding charge.  

"But, I mean, a lot of people there are times in your career where you can go in two different directions and he's figuring it out," he said. "Obviously he's made some choices he reflects back and wished he'd done it a little different, but at the same time there's just not a lot of people who are thrust into this spotlight this soon at that age. Really in the National Football League, there's only a few of them.

"So I always want to give people a little grace period, a little time and the fact that I know him, the fact that I know his personality and how much good he does off the field and how good he is with people, I think he's going to figure it out and be fine. But like we say, you always take responsibility and try and improve in all facets of life."

Elliott has spoken with owner and general manager Jerry Jones this week after an incident at a Dallas bar in which a source said he was involved. Coach Jason Garrett said he will meet with Elliott on Friday. Dallas Police have suspended the investigation because they have not been able to find the victim and no witnesses have come forward.

Veteran players are due at the team's facility in Frisco, Texas, on Friday for physicals and a conditioning test before they travel to Oxnard, California, on Saturday for the start of training camp.