Ezekiel Elliott's Knee Injury Recovery 'Truly' Day-to-Day, Cowboys' McCarthy Says

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is considered day-to-day ahead of Week 10's matchup against the Green Bay Packers, coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday.

“The work was good (yesterday). He was hitting the holes. … This will truly be day-to-day. We don’t want to get in a spot where he was last year," McCarthy told reporters.

Elliott missed Week 8's win over the Chicago Bears with a Grade 2 sprain of his right MCL. He spent most of last season playing through a partially torn PCL and struggled with his effectiveness, so McCarthy is hopeful this knee injury doesn't linger in the same fashion.

Tony Pollard was sensational in Elliott's absence, rushing for 131 yards and three touchdowns in the Cowboys' 49-29 win over Chicago. Despite Pollard outperforming Elliott in almost every conceivable fashion, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has insisted there is no chance of Zeke losing his job.

"We're going to go as Zeke goes," Jones said after the Cowboys' bye week. "He's that integral to our success this year."

Elliott has rushed for 443 yards and four touchdowns this season on 109 carries. Pollard has compiled 506 yards and five scores on 81 carries.

It's hard to see any actual football reason for Elliott to maintain the bulk of the workload. He's been a worse player on a per-carry basis since the moment Pollard arrived as the team's fourth-round draft pick in 2019. While there's some pride involved in the Cowboys not wanting to admit Elliott's massive contract was a mistake, their best opportunity to win football games is with Pollard taking over the backfield.

We'll have to see if that plays out over the remainder of the season.