Ezekiel Elliott breaks silence on knee injury, status for Cowboys

The status of the Dallas Cowboys’ star running back Ezekiel Elliott has been in limbo, as the Ohio State product has been nursing a knee injury for the past several weeks.

A recent report from ESPN indicated that the Cowboys may opt to rest Elliott in this coming game — a Thursday night contest at New Orleans — allowing him to take the short week off, rest his knee and be prepared for the Cowboys’ next game, a divisional matchup against the Washington Football Team.

The Cowboys are currently on a bye, and Elliott rushed nine times for 25 yards and a touchdown on Thanksgiving against the Las Vegas Raiders. And according to Elliott, that bye week is really the only time he needs.

Elliott said he does not plan on taking any time off for his right knee injury, and he expects it to get better. Further, he clarified that no one has asked him to rest it, per Jon Machota.

“I’ve been dealing with it for almost two months now. I think it has gotten better. It does get stiff, but I have different methods to work that out on the sideline,” Elliott said, citing heating wrap as one of the methods. He then clarified that the Cowboys’ coaching staff has not forced him to rest it or take it easy, saying “no one has brought it up to me.”

Mike McCarthy updates Ezekiel Elliott status for Cowboys-Rams

While on the bye week, head coach Mike McCarthy addressed Elliott’s status, as well as the possibility of sitting the star for one more week.

“I haven’t seen Zeke since Thursday, so we’ll just go through the normal process,” McCarthy said, via Jon Machota. “As far as how we’re gonna play Thursday, we’re still working through this COVID situation.

“It’s that time of year,” McCarthy said, via ESPN. “Zeke’s running style is ferocious. He gives a pounding, and he takes some hits. We need to evaluate that, and this week we’ll see what the preparation looks like for him.”

Elliott has had a productive year through the Cowboys’ first 11 games, rushing for 720 yards on 160 carries, along with eight touchdowns. He’s also reeled in 38 receptions for 228 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Perhaps most importantly, for the Cowboys’ sake, Elliott has not yet missed a game due to injury — something that has haunted him in seasons past.

“It’s football,” Elliott said. “You get hurt. You aren’t going to be 100 percent. I’m tough. Play through it.”