Ezekiel Elliott Reportedly Eligible to Play Week 1 vs Giants Amid Appeal Process

Ezekiel Elliott's fate has yet to be decided by the NFL, but in the meantime, the Dallas Cowboys running back may be able to see the field for his team's Week 1 matchup with the New York Giants. 

Mike Fisher of CowboysHQ.com reported the NFL told Federal Judge Amos Mazzant that regardless of the decision in Elliott's appeal of his six-game suspension, he'll be eligible to play Sunday.

Harold Henderson is overseeing the appeal of Elliott's suspension. The NFL Players Association indicated Henderson planned to make a final decision by the close of Tuesday's business day, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The deadline was important, as Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio noted Elliott will become immediately eligible if a decision wasn't made about his suspension by 4 p.m. ET.

Pelissero reported Henderson wanted to meet the deadline but that the "volume of material" was forcing him to be extra deliberate with his final decision.

Elliott wasn't subjected to a criminal case in connection with the alleged domestic disturbance that resulted in his suspension. But Todd Jones, the NFL's special counsel for conduct, wrote in a statement the league's investigation found "there is substantial and persuasive evidence supporting a finding that [Elliott] engaged in physical violence against Ms. [Tiffany] Thompson on multiple occasions during the week of July 16, 2016."

The Star-Telegram's Clarence E. Hill Jr. reported, however, the only person to interview Thompson during the investigation, the NFL's director of investigations Kia Wright Roberts, suggested the league levy no suspension against the Pro Bowl running back.