The Dallas Cowboys are on their bye week and may be without their star running back when they return to play on October 22. Conveniently, that game will be against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
On Thursday, a federal appeals court overturned the district court's decision in the Ezekiel Elliott case. What that means for the running back is that his six-game suspension, which was originally issued by the league in August, has been reinstated and could take effect immediately. That would make Elliott unavailable for the Cowboys until a November 30 matchup against the Washington Redskins.
The 5th Circuit ruled 2-to-1 in favor of the NFL declaring that the district court "did not have subject matter jurisdiction in the Elliott case." Of course, that does not end the matter. The NFL Players Association is expected to re-file the case and seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would allow Elliott to continue playing. Should that occur, it would make Elliott available for Dallas' game against the 49ers.
The original ruling, which was handed down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, had come after a year-long investigation by the NFL into multiple incidents involving Elliott and including domestic violence accusations made against him by a woman who identified herself as his former girlfriend.
On September 9, U.S. District Court judge Amos Mazzant granted the NFL Players Association's preliminary injunction request on behalf of Elliott. Mazzant determined Elliott didn't "receive a fundamentally fair hearing, necessitating the court grant the request for preliminary injunction."