Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott Not Expected to Play Week 8 vs. Bears

Dallas Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill Jr. reports running back Ezekiel Elliott is not expected to play Week 8 versus the Chicago Bears due to a right knee injury.

Hill’s words contradict those of Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, who said Elliott still had an opportunity to suit up.

“He’s doing a lot better than we anticipated early in the week. If he practices tomorrow, then he’d have a chance of playing,” McCarthy said.

However, with a Week 9 bye looming, Elliott taking a full two weeks off appears to be the best course of action, as echoed by owner Jerry Jones:

“It had everything to do with how we’re doing this weekend with this bye coming up.” said Jones, “I’m not so sure we would’ve done it this way had we not had the bye.”

If Elliott is ruled out, Tony Pollard would be in line for an increased workload and represents a solid, albeit chalky, DFS option ($6,300 on FanDuel).