NFL suspends Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott six games

Cowboys superstar Zeke Elliott will miss a large portion of the Cowboys games this year

After a year-long investigation into Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL will reportedly hand down a six game suspension. Elliott faced a domestic violence claim along with a motley of off the field mishaps violating the personal conduct policy.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the six game suspension being given to Elliott. Any appeal must be sent to the NFL in three business days.

Schefter says the league primarily looked at the incidents in February and July of 2016 where Elliott’s ex-girlfriend accused him of assault. Elliott has denied those allegations and was never arrested or charged with a crime in this case.

The league also looked at an incident on St. Patricks Day when Elliott pulled down a woman’s top during a parade, but Schefter says that incident was not part of the final decision to suspend Elliott for six games.

Multiple speeding tickets and most recently a bar fight also clouded Elliott in the past year, adding to the pattern of behavior the league looked at.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network says in a letter to Elliott, NFL executive Todd Jones said there was “substantial and persuasive evidence” referring to multiple violent incidents.

Here’s the letter Elliott and the Cowboys received from the NFL:

The NFL personal conduct policy states “In cases where a player is not charged with a crime, or is charged but not convicted, he may still be found to have violated the policy if the credible evidence establishes that he engaged in conduct prohibited by this Personal Conduct Policy.”

The baseline for a suspension involving domestic violence is six games without pay.

If an appeal by Elliott is unsuccessful the Cowboys will be without their star running back for games against the Giants, Broncos, Cardinals, Rams, Packers, and 49ers. Dallas has an early bye week during week six, meaning Elliott would miss week seven and be eligible to return.

Dallas has an early bye week during week six, meaning Elliott would miss week seven and be eligible to return against Washington two days before Halloween.

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Elliott is likely to appeal, but his best case scenario would be the suspension dropping to four games. Most likely, the second-year back will miss a significant portion of the Cowboys season.