A judge has dissolved Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott‘s temporary restraining order, meaning his six-game suspension is now in effect once again, tweets Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News.

Elliott was granted a temporary injunction earlier this month which allowed him to stave off suspension for two more weeks. But a judge tonight indicated that Elliott had “ample opportunity” to challenge the NFL’s ban during arbitration, and also said “the proceedings in their totality accorded with the CBA and the personal conduct policy,” per Hairopoulos (Twitter links). In essence, the court decided Elliott had already exhausted his potential remedies.

An appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit would be Elliott’s next step, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, but a decision from that bench wouldn’t be expected in short order. As such, Elliott will be banned while waiting for an answer from that court (were he to send his case in that direction). However, Elliott has 24 hours to file an appeal with the Second Circuit, and his legal team will argue that his suspension should be remain lifted until the appeal is heard, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Elliott, of course, was issued his suspension following allegations of domestic violence. The fourth overall selection in the 2016 draft, Elliott has accused the NFL of fomenting a conspiracy against him, and the dispute has gotten ugly from all angles. Elliott and his camp have cast doubt on the consistency of his accuser’s claims and suggested her motives were profit-based, while the NFL has accused Elliott of victim-shaming.

But the situation at hand has little to do with the original accusations against Elliott, and instead is focused on the NFL’s disciplinary process and whether the league followed its own procedures. Interestingly, the Cowboys organization jumped into the legal fray earlier this month, issuing an affidavit stating the club would suffer irreparable harm if the New York didn’t issue Zeke a temporary injunction.

If Elliot is forced to serve his suspension immediately, he’ll miss games against the Chiefs, Falcons, Eagles, Chargers, Redskins, and Giants before returning to face the Raiders in mid-December. The Cowboys will use some combination of Alfred Morris, Darren McFadden, and Rod Smith for the next six weeks as they attempt to maintain their tenuous grasp on postseason contention.

A judge has denied the NFL’s request for an expedited hearing in Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension case, according to legal analyst Daniel Wallach (Twitter link). The league had been pushing for an October 27 hearing, but the case will instead be heard on October 30 as originally planned.

The most immediate impact of Judge Katherine Failla is that Elliott will be available to play in Dallas’ Week 8 contest against the Redskins, which takes place just one day before the October 30 hearing date. That’s an incredibly important NFC East matchup, especially given that the Cowboys now sit at 3-3 after Sunday’s thrashing of the 49ers (Washington, meanwhile, is 3-2 pending the result of Monday Night Football).

Following that game, Elliott and his team will take his case to Failla. Elliott, of course, is facing a six-game suspension stemming from domestic violence allegations, but last week was granted a temporary restraining order against the NFL that allowed him to stay on the field. If Ellliott’s ban sticks after Week 8, he would miss critical games against the Falcons, Chiefs, Eagles, and Redskins, and wouldn’t be able to return until Week 15.

Elliott is fresh off his best performance of the season, as he totaled 219 yards from scrimmage and scored three times against San Francisco. If Elliott is suspended, the Cowboys would likely turn to a combination of Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden in the backfield.

So much for a compromise. On Friday, NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart closed the door on a possible deal with Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. 

“We’re not looking to make a deal, we’re very confident our arguments will prevail in court,” Lockhart said (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).

A Wednesday report indicated that Elliott’s camp and the NFL have held informal settlement discussions at each stage of the legal process. However, if there were settlement talks taking place, they were not being done directly with Elliott or anyone especially close to him.

One source close to Elliott surmised to Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram that such talks may have been taking place between commissioner Roger Goodell and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. It’s not 100% clear if that’s the case, but, if those discussions did go down between Goodell and Jones, they were not fruitful.

For now, Elliott remains in limbo. Thanks to a temporary restraining order, he will be in action this Sunday against the Niners and the following Sunday against the Redskins.

Through five games, Elliott has 393 yards off of 105 carries. His 3.7 yards per carry average isn’t terrible, but it’s a far cry from his 5.1 yards per attempt as a rookie. San Francisco has allowed 112+ yards per contest, so there should be opportunities for him to crank things up at Levi’s Stadium.

Ezekiel Elliott‘s six-game ban was set to go into effect immediately…until it wasn’t. On Tuesday, the Cowboys running back was granted a temporary restraining order against the NFL, putting his suspension on hold for at least the next two games.

Then, on Wednesday night, it was reported that there have been settlement talks between Elliott’s camp and the NFL. After months of ugliness, could the two sides conceivably meet in the middle with a ban of, say, three games? Here’s the latest on that:

• Claims of settlement talks between the NFLPA/Elliott’s camp and the NFL are untrue, a person familiar with the situation tells Mike Jones of The Washington Post (on Twitter).
• Meanwhile, sources close to Elliott and the NFLPA tell Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram (Twitter links) that they have no knowledge of settlement talks or interest in a compromise. Elliott, as we’ve heard before, is out to clear his name from accusations that he says are without merit. If there have been talks, then a source surmises that they have taken place between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Roger Goodell themselves.
• With all of that in mind, there is very little chance of a settlement taking place, multiple sources tell Mark Maske of The Washington Post (on Twitter).

It’s not just fans that are growing weary of the back-and-forth between Ezekiel Elliott and the NFL. In the midst of a protracted legal battle, the two sides have discussed the possibility of a settlement, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News writes. 

Elliott is adamant about clearing his name and, of course, not serving the six-game ban handed to him by the league. The NFL, meanwhile, doesn’t want its disciplinary powers to be weakened. To save time, money, and energy, the answer could be to shake hands on an agreement that has the Cowboys running back serve a shorter suspension effective immediately.

The settlement talks have been going on for a while, with dialogue happening behind the scenes after each court ruling along the way, one source tells Moore. At previous stops, the league may have felt that it had the upper hand and shied away from a compromise. But, currently, things feel pretty neutral thanks to the temporary restraining order that Elliott has been granted.

For now, all we know is that the TRO should allow Elliott to suit up against the Niners this weekend and against the Redskins the following week. Beyond that, his status remains murky.

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott won’t serve his six-game suspension just yet, as a New York court has granted him a temporary restraining order against the NFL, according to Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter links).

Elliott should be available for Dallas’ next two games, but will need to plead his case to Judge Katherine Fallia when she returns from vacation around October 30. That means Elliott will likely be able to face the Redskins and 49ers over the course of the next two weeks. But the TRO could also be delaying the inevitable, as each week Elliott doesn’t accept his six-game ban is one more week he’ll have to serve later this season.

Essentially, Elliott has been given a two-week respite from the legal process after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals restored his suspension last week. Elliott and his team re-filed in Texas, but that case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Today’s decision from a New York court was thought to be Elliott’s last remaining recourse.

Elliott, of course, was issued his suspension following allegations of domestic violence. The fourth overall selection in the 2016 draft, Elliott has accused the NFL of fomenting a conspiracy against him, and the dispute has gotten ugly from all angles. Elliott and his camp have cast doubt on the consistency of his accuser’s claims and suggested her motives were profit-based, while the NFL has accused Elliott of victim-shaming.

But the situation at hand has little to do with the original accusations against Elliott, and instead is focused on the NFL’s disciplinary process and whether the league followed its own procedures. Interestingly, the Cowboys organization jumped into the legal fray today, issuing an affidavit stating the club would suffer irreparable harm if the New York didn’t issue Zeke injunction today, per Amy Dash of CBS Sports (Twitter link).

If and when Elliott is actually suspended, the Cowboys should be able to cover — in at least some regard — for his loss with backups Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden. Neither back is the singularly dynamic talent that is Elliott, but each offers a vast amount of NFL experience.