After months of appeals, stays, and court decisions, Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension is here to stay.
On Wednesday, Elliott announced that he would drop his appeal of the six-game suspension issued to him months ago as the punishment for an alleged domestic incident.
Elliott didn’t drop his appeal because he changed his mind about the unfairness of the suspension, but instead, because a potential appeal likely would run through the entirety of the six-game suspension anyway.
The Cowboys lost their first game without Elliott to the Falcons on Sunday. He’ll miss this weekend’s tilt with the Eagles, the Thanksgiving Day game with the Chargers, primetime games with both the Redskins and Raiders, and a divisional matchup in New Jersey against the Giants before returning on Christmas Eve against the Seahawks.
By then, it may be too late – the Eagles are already running away with the NFC East at 8-1, and Philadelphia will likely have the division wrapped up before their Week 17 New Year’s Eve game with the Cowboys. The NFC Wild Card standings are currently a trainwreck, with the 7-3 Panthers and 6-3 Seahawks in pole position and six teams (including Dallas) at either 5-4 and 4-5.
Alfred Morris, who will replace Elliott as the primary tailback for the next five weeks, rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries in the loss to the Falcons. Even more pressure will be thrown onto the shoulders of quarterback Dak Prescott, who has already matched last season’s total of four interceptions in just nine games while also completing passes at a lower rate and for fewer yards.