Dallas RB Elliott suspended 6 games by NFL

On Friday, Adam Schefter reported that Elliott will be suspended for six games without pay this season.

A ruling on Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s rumored suspension is expected to come down soon, and could be announced as early as today.

It is possible that upon appeal Elliott’s suspension will be reduced, but for how many games remains to be seen.

The No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, Elliott helped lead the Cowboys to a 13-3 record last season. Elliott was not charged or arrested for the domestic violence accusations in July of 2016, but the league – as it has the power to do – suspended him regardless. And for the first time in a long time, I genuinely have no idea what to make of this situation.

The decision came almost 13 months after the league starting investigating Elliott following domestic violence accusations by a former girl friend. He has three days to file and then a hearing would be scheduled within the next 10 days.

“He is a remarkable player, big strong athletic”, tight end Jason Witten said when asked about the prospect of playing without Elliott on Thursday.

According to police records from the investigation in Ohio, Elliott told the woman in text exchanges that he would use a sauna to help him pass National Football League drug tests.

The NFL’s investigation, meanwhile, also included review of a second incident on March 11, 2017. There were also multiple witnesses that said he did nothing wrong.

In the weeks following the allegations, Elliott said he had text messages proving he was being set up. Goodell consulted with a panel of experts with law enforcement, legal and public service backgrounds before reaching a determination. He was a top-20 running back despite the Cowboys being without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant for most of the year due to injuries. No charges were brought in that case, as well.

Goodell determined that the St. Patrick’s Day incident would not be considered separately as basis for additional discipline under the policy “given the circumstances surrounding the incident”.