Ezekiel Elliott likely to play in Dallas Cowboys' next preseason game Saturday
Ezekiel Elliott is likely to get a few preseason snaps before his six-game suspension is scheduled to go into effect.
The Dallas Cowboys are poised to give last year's NFL rushing champ a few reps in Saturday night's contest against the Oakland Raiders, the de facto dress rehearsal for starters. Elliott has not played in a game since Dallas' playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers in January.
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"The biggest thing is having the mindset of preparing him for Week 1 of the season, and that's the approach we've taken," Dallas coach Jason Garrett said Thursday. "He got a number of more reps in training camp than he did last year. If you remember he had the hamstring injury last year, ended up playing in the second-to-last preseason game and got 8, 10, 12 snaps in that ballgame. So that is the approach we've taken with him and anything beyond that we'll take as it comes."
Elliott's appeal of his ban under the NFL's personal conduct policy, for alleged domestic violence against a former girlfriend, is slated for Tuesday. It's possible his suspension, which is set to begin Sept. 2, could be reduced or vacated. He could also challenge it legally if he doesn't get a desired outcome, and that might mean he'll be on the field after all when the Cowboys open Sept. 10 against the New York Giants.
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