Former Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott settles dog attack lawsuit before trial
Former Dallas Cowboys running back and current free agent Ezekiel Elliott came to an agreement to settle a lawsuit this week stemming from a 2021 dog attack. A court official told Isabella Volmert of the Dallas Morning News that a woman who resides in Elliott’s neighborhood in Frisco, Texas, has resolved her case against the NFL star.
The woman in question, Jennifer Gampper, was seeking more than $1 million in damages after she alleged one of Elliott’s dogs left her with “severe and permanent injuries” as a result of an unprovoked attack.
Without settlement, the case would have gone forward to a jury trial on Monday in the 471st District Court.
According to case details, Frisco officials received a call about three loose dogs on May 20, 2021. One of the dogs, a Rottweiler, bit two people before the city’s animal services could wrangle them. The two bite victims received hospital treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Elliott received three animal-at-large citations at the time, and the Rottweiler went into a mandatory 10-day quarantine for observation.
Christopher Hamilton, Gampper’s attorney, also confirmed the case’s resolution with Volmert but would not disclose any terms of the settlement.
Although this case appears to be closed, Elliott isn’t completely in the clear on the dog-related lawsuit front. Another case, brought forth by an employee of Prosper canine daycare, was filed in June of 2021, according to the DMN.
Elliott still available on free agent market
Since his release from the Dallas Cowboys, Ezekiel Elliott still hasn’t signed with a new team. As a free agent, the former first-rounder can ink a deal at any point.
Team owner Jerry Jones has made it clear multiple times that he doesn’t want to get fans too excited about a potential reunion.
“I don’t want to ever leave him hanging, our fans hanging, or anybody but I wouldn’t take any possibility off of the table,” Jones said this offseason.
Without Elliott, the Cowboys are banking on franchise-tagged running back Tony Pollard to carry the load in 2023.
After leading the Cowboys’ run game in each season since his rookie year, Elliott heavily split time with Pollard in 2022, resulting in the least productive season so far for the 27-year-old.
Elliott totaled 876 rushing yards in the regular season and just 53 rushing yards in the two postseason games. Meanwhile, Pollard notched his first 1,000-yard rushing season and made the Pro Bowl.
Over 103 career NFL regular season games for Dallas, however, Elliott rushed for 8,262 yards with 68 rushing touchdowns.