As Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott braces for a suspension, the young star found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons earlier this week. Elliott was allegedly involved in a fight at a Dallas bar on Sunday night. While no charges were filed, it’s yet another off-field issue for the second-year player.
In speaking out about his Pro Bowl running back, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated on Tuesday that he has not spoken to anyone in the NFL regarding Elliott’s latest off-field issue.
“First of all, I haven’t spoken to anyone at the NFL, but I have detail, some detail. More to get,” Jones said, via Pro Football Talk. “Certainly as you can imagine, and I appreciate why, but probably could count the way things are, and so I’ll be getting more detail and will be commenting on if there’s any comment from me, which you need in the future.”
Jones had previously indicated he was confident Elliott would be cleared of any wrongdoing by the NFL stemming from previous domestic violence allegations. Now with this recent incident, Jones himself doesn’t seem to be too sure.
“I actually don’t know the status, but I surely don’t want to speculate about any decisions from the league or any potential injury or lack of having a player available,” Jones said. “Availability is a key. Ability is a key. But availability is a key, and we really do plan personnel-wise, we plan for a player not being available. That’s just part of our DNA.”
Dallas remains one of the top contenders to vie for a Lombardi Trophy this upcoming season. Losing Elliott for an extended period of time would surely hurt the team. Outside of that, it’s high time Elliott himself wake up and mature off the field. We don’t need to see him act as a poster child for off-field issues like so many young players before him have.