Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and his legal team are not giving up its legal fight with the NFL over his six-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
One day after having his preliminary injunction thrown out and his case ordered to be dismissed by a three-judge panel, 2-1, from the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Elliott informed a New York judge that he plans to file a petition for a rehearing before the full 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
It's largely a 'Hail Mary,' as Elliott's team of NFL Players' Association lawyers likely feel they will have a better chance of success with a rehearing with the 5th Circuit than re-starting the case by filing for a new temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction with the Southern District Court of New York, which is viewed as a more favorable court for the NFL. The league won its Deflategate case against Tom Brady in that court.
The three-panel judges voted 2-1 to grant the NFL's emergency request and ordered the U.S. Eastern District of Texas Court in Sherman to dismiss Elliott's case.
The vote was not unanimous, with James E. Graves issuing a dissenting opinion in Elliott's favor. Jennifer Elrod and Edward Prado swung the decision in the NFL's favor.
Essentially, the 5th Circuit agreed with the NFL saying the case was not ripe as Elliott had not exhausted all remedies under the collective bargaining agreement, thus Elliott filed too soon and the Texas court did not have proper jurisdiction to rule.
Again, Elliott is hoping a review by the entire 5th circuit might result in a different outcome, if they get granted the review.
If they are granted the full review, Elliott and his lawyers have asked that the preliminary injunction blocking the suspension be reinstated.
As of now, Elliott will miss the next six games following Sunday's bye, starting with the Oct. 22 matchup at the San Francisco 49ers, the Oct. 29 game at the Washington Redskins, at home Nov. 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Nov. 12 at the Atlanta Falcons, Nov. 19 at home against the Philadelphia Eagle and the Nov. 23 Thanksgiving Day game against the Washington Redskins.
Elliott is eligible to return to the team Nov. 24.
Elliott, 22, has played in the first five games for the 2-3 Cowboys. He leads the team with 393 rushing yards on 105 carries, averaging 3.7 yards a carry. He was the NFL's rushing champion as a rookie a year ago with 1,631 yards.
