Dez Bryant Calls Ezekiel Elliott's Off-Field Issues Maturity 'Steppingstone'

As the off-field drama continues to pile up for Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant is optimistic about his teammate learning to avoid bad situations as he matures.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday (via ESPN.com), Bryant explained Elliott is going through a "steppingstone" in his maturity:

"It's just a steppingstone that he's gonna get over. Zeke's a young guy. I'm not blaming it on that. [But] freshman college to playing for America's team, it's kinda hard to deal with. 

"You gotta give Zeke credit because he do deserve it, he do deserve to have fun. Because he put that work in to have fun. But, as the years pass, as he gets older, he's gonna mature and things are gonna get a lot smoother."

Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan reported Monday that Elliott was allegedly involved in an altercation at a Dallas bar. 

Elliott was never arrested, nor was he named as a suspect in the alleged incident, and the Dallas Police Department announced on Wednesday it was suspending its investigation into the incident on July 16 that Elliott was reportedly involved in, via NFL.com's Austin Knoblauch. 

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Friday the NFL is "nearing completion" of its investigation process into Elliott that first began with domestic violence claims made against him in 2016. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on July 14 Elliott is "bracing" for a short suspension from the NFL for his off-field exploits.