SUNDAY, 9:19am: The Elliott saga continues to get more interesting. According to Clarence Hill, Jr. of the Star-Telegram (via Twitter) and Michael McCann, legal analyst for SI.com (via Twitter), Elliott will remain suspended unless and until he receives an en banc hearing and the temporary restraining order that was previously issued is reinstated. As indicated below, the odds of that happening are pretty slim.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the Fifth Circuit will offer further clarity within the next several days. In other words, the Court will soon indicate whether it will recall its mandate dismissing the case pending its decision to grant an en banc hearing — meaning that Elliott could play until a decision on the en banc hearing is made — or if the case will remain dismissed pending the en banc decision (in which case Elliott would be suspended until the full Fifth District panel of 17 judges agrees to hear his case). As Hill and McCann indicate, it will be the latter.
SATURDAY, 6:12pm: The judge who granted Ezekiel Elliott the preliminary injunction that allowed him to play in the Cowboys’ first five games, Amos Mazzant, won’t lift the injunction until the Fifth Circuit court decides whether or not to grant him an en banc hearing, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports (Twitter links).
This means Elliott remains eligible to play for the Cowboys until the Fifth Circuit determines whether the en banc hearing is justified. Elliott’s team requested this step, which means the case would be heard by all 17 of the Fifth District’s judges rather than a three-judge panel that ended up ruling in favor of the NFL, but it hasn’t been determined if the court will grant it.
Illustrating the back-and-forth nature of this fight, the NFL still considers Elliott suspended, the Dallas Morning News’ Kate Hairopoulos tweets.
The odds for the NFLPA and Elliott proceeding toward this rehearing seem long, with NFL Network legal analyst Gabe Feldman noting (via Twitter) only six of the 200 en banc petitions submitted last year ended up being granted. Tom Brady did not receive one during the Deflategate saga.
The NFLPA made this request on Friday and, according to ESPN.com, has 14 days to file this petition. During that time, Elliott would not be suspended. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (video link) Elliott’s team and the NFLPA chose the en banc option because they believe it provides the best chance to keep Elliott on the field.
This would seem to green-light the running back to play in the Cowboys’ Week 7 game against the 49ers, that date falling in the 14-day window. But the court denying Elliott the en banc hearing would reinstate the six-game suspension in what’s been an eventful battle between the sides contesting this fight.
The NFLPA argued the three-judge panel merely ruled Elliott filed his initial appeal with Mazzant too early, before Harold Henderson’s verdict upheld the NFL’s August ruling, and did not address the running back’s right to due process.
I believe this analysis is incorrect. The 5th circuit VACATED the preliminary injunction, so no further action by the district court is required. Absent a further order from the 5th circuit, the suspension is effective and Elliott cannot play.