Dallas Cowboys News: Ezekiel Elliott Could Now Serve Six-Game Suspension After Bye Week
Major news has hit the Dallas Cowboys and their fans involving Ezekiel Elliott’s previously banned suspension. It is now being reported that the star running back will have to serve the suspension originally doled out to him by the NFL for domestic assaults in the past year. The Cowboys’ player, now in his second season in the league, has participated in five games already for the current season, but it looks like now the team will be without him for over half of the remainder of their season.
It was first reported by ESPN on Thursday evening that the block against the six-game suspension for running back Ezekiel Elliott was lifted by a federal appeals court. The decision was made by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans which gave the NFL the right to move aside an injunction placed on Elliott’s suspension. The league had made an emergency request for this to be done. In addition, the court also ordered the district court in Texas to dismiss Elliott’s case. A 2-1 vote by the three-judge panel was enough to make today’s decision happen.
The Dallas Cowboys have gone just 2-3 over their first five games for this current season. Elliott has racked up about 400 yards and just two touchdowns on 105 attempts so far. Questions have arisen over the team compared to how they looked last year with two talented rookies helping the offense. The team earned a No. 1 overall seed in the NFC Playoffs based on their record. However, the team also fell to the Green Bay Packers and veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers in their first game of the postseason.
Elliott’s suspension was handed out by the NFL back in August by Commissioner Roger Goodell. The punishment was given out after a lengthy investigation by the league into allegations that Elliott had been involved in physical altercations with a former girlfriend. While there had never been formal charges made in the case by authorities or prosecutors, the league felt it had sufficient information to make a decision to punish the running back.
The injunction against the league’s six-game suspension for Ezekiel Elliott came from a federal judge in Texas last month. However, the NFL players’ union attorneys’ case is now being ordered to be dismissed by that Texas court. Still, there could be a possible appeal for Elliott and his legal team in the Southern District of New York. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network recently said in a video posted to Twitter that he believes this case could continue into 2018.
Ezekiel Elliott's suspension case could continue into 2018 per @MikeGarafolo.
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? | #TNF First Look https://t.co/F7Gqsbkadx— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) October 12, 2017
As the reports indicate, if the decision to remove this injunction holds up, it will mean Ezekiel Elliott must begin serving the suspension after the Cowboys’ bye week scheduled for this week. That would mean Dallas would be without their star running back against the San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers. However, there’s potentially good news for Elliott and the Cowboys in the fact that appeals are still possible which could still allow him to play.
[Featured Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
