Team news: Dallas Cowboys | Page 66

Cowboys players were off Monday, their regular off day, but Ezekiel Elliott will return to practice Tuesday for the first time in more than a week. He missed last week while preparing for and attending his appeals hearing in New York.

The star running back took part in Saturday’s meetings and walk-through at the team’s training facility.

“He’s just focused on getting back to work,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Monday, via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “I think Zeke has done an excellent job focusing on what he needs to do to get himself ready to play. I think our team has done that.”

The team is preparing like Elliott will play in Week 1. The story said the chances of him playing Week 1 are actually improving the closer we get to kickoff, because a ruling has to come down by 4 p.m. Tuesday or Elliott automatically becomes eligible to play.

The clock is ticking on arbitrator Harold Henderson, and many expect he’ll rule on Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension on Monday. Currently, that’s unlikely.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Henderson isn’t expected to issue a ruling until Tuesday, at the earliest.

If Henderson doesn’t issue a ruling by Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, Elliott automatically will be available for Week 1 against the Giants. At 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Judge Amos L. Mazzant III will hear arguments regarding the effort to block the suspension pending outcome of the lawsuit filed by Elliott on Friday.

As he enters the final year of his contract with the Miami Dolphins, the NFL is reviewing wide receiver Jarvis Landry for an alleged domestic incident involving his girlfriend.

An NFL spokesman confirmed that Landry is being looked at under the league’s personal conduct policy. That’s the same policy under which Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was suspended for 6 games back on Aug. 11. Elliott is currently appealing.

“The matter remains under review,” the NFL spokesman said of Landry.

According to sources, the league is in possession of video from the alleged incident.

A Fort Lauderdale police report shows that Landry was allegedly involved in a domestic violence incident with his girlfriend earlier this year.

The case was passed forward to the Broward County State Attorney’s office, who confirmed that they are investigating.

According to sources, Landry’s girlfriend was not cooperating with authorities. She also later released a statement saying she was not physically hurt and called it a false story.

Landry's draft stock has taken a hit with the loss of Ryan Tannehill under the assumption that Jay Cutler would favor DeVante Parker. In 16 preseason pass attempts (two of which were negated by penalty), Cutler has targeted Parker five times and Landry three times, so within this small sample size, there is some reason for concern. The NFL's investigation is another grey cloud hanging over Landry's head. They recently handed Ezekiel Elliott a six-game suspension for an alleged domestic incident, so the league has been taking a harder stance on domestic violence after receiving a lot of criticism for only giving Ray Rice a two-game suspension a few years ago.

Adam Schefter appearing on the Mike and Mike Show: “The more that I have heard, the more I think [Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott] has a real chance to have some games knocked off the suspension.”

Related players: Darren McFadden

Schefter is about as plugged in as they come, so we should listen to what he says. It sounds as if the NFL may be willing to reduce the suspension to avoid a long court process and perhaps Elliott would be on board with that. Elliott's appeal should wrap up today, so hopefully we know more before the weekend. He would become much more appealing if his suspension were reduced to three or four games.

Ezekiel Elliott's appeal hearing to challenge his six-game suspension by the NFL isn't done yet.

The Cowboys running back began his fight Tuesday in New York, but the hearing will spill over into Wednesday, a source confirmed.

The hearing, which was held at an undisclosed location so the media couldn't stake out the league's Park Avenue headquarters, includes witness testimony.

Arbitrator Harold Henderson, a former long-time NFL employee, is making the decision whether to uphold, overturn or reduce the punishment issued by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

PFT's Mike Florio predicts that Ezekiel Elliott will suit up in Week 1. In a video, Florio said, “It feels like it’s careening towards the court system… which tells me there’s a very good chance that Elliott will be suiting up” in Week 1.

"I think the way that it's going to go, if recent history holds, he will get an injunction preventing the league from suspending him to start the season, suspending him at all until the litigation is over. And the way these cases move, the litigation won't be over until next year. And right now, this is all lining up for Elliott to serve the suspension, if at all, in the 2018 season and to be able to play in 2017…”

If the suspension is upheld, Elliott needs to be granted an injunction by a judge in order to fight the suspension in court. He also must avoid Commissioner Goodell's Exempt List. Even if he were able to get an injunction, Goodell could put him on the Exempt List and hold him out. It's not clear what the chances are that this will happen. If he gets an injunction and stays off the Exempt List, he's likely to play a full seasons since the case will likely more than a few months to come to a conclusion.

I pretty much expected Willie Snead to settle in as the New Orleans Saints' No. 2 receiver after they traded Brandin Cooks this offseason.

But as this summer has gone on, it's starting to look like veteran newcomer Ted Ginn Jr. might push him for that unofficial title -- or, better yet, that the Saints might not have anyone who is considered a No. 2 receiver behind Michael Thomas.

The story went on to say the Saints love to spread the ball around. Snead has had a very quiet summer, with just three catches for 18 yards in a total of three preseason games. There are other hints - like Ginn being listed ahead of Snead on the Saints' unofficial depth chart and Snead playing deep into the fourth quarter of New Orleans' second preseason game.

The Patriots are obviously going to have to adjust after the injury to wide receiver Julian Edelman, but newcomer Brandin Cooks already figured to be a big part of their offensive plan.

Acquired in a trade with the Saints this offseason, Cooks said the job got tougher without Edelman (who suffered a torn ACL in their most recent preseason game), but he knew he was walking into an environment where adaptability was key.

“Very unfortunate, a guy like that; a warrior who works so hard,” Cooks said of Edelman, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “At the same time, we know we have to get ready, to keep the wheels turning and do what we have to do to make up for that.”

Cooks says he feels fresh but is still learning the demands of the Pats offense. We have Cooks ranked 12th on our list of WRs.

Fears confirmed via MRI, Patriots WR Julian Edelman has a complete ACL tear in his right knee, per source.

Related players: Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Danny Amendola

Hogan likely steps in and replaces most of his production in the offense. To this point, he's been more of a late-round flier thanks to the addition of Brandin Cooks, but he has the receiving chops to play in the slot or outside. In 18 games last season (including the postseason) he played at a 49-catch, 900-yard, 5.3-touchdown pace, which equates to fantasy WR4 numbers in PPR formats and low-end WR3 numbers in standard (thanks to his 18.4 yards per catch). Hogan will likely run more shorter routes causing his receptions to increase while the yardage and touchdowns stay about the same. He's our No. 42 receiver in PPR scoring, which would make him an 8th-round value on draft day. Most owners will probably be able to get him in the 10th or later.

Patriots WR Julian Edelman with what looked like a non-contact knee injury. Limping to the bench now.

Update from Ian Rapoport: "Patriots WR Julian Edelman has suffered what is believed to be a torn ACL, per sources. MRI tomorrow to confirm."

Related players: Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell and Danny Amendola.

We'll update as more information becomes available, but the injury appeared to be non-contact, which usually isn't good. We should know tomorrow if there's ligament damage. If he were to miss time, it would boost the other Patriot receivers, but Chris Hogan is the best of the rest and should benefit the most.