We are now entering the eighth week of the 2022 NFL season, and daily practice reports are becoming longer and longer as injury updates pour in. One player to keep an eye on is Ezekiel Elliott, as the Dallas Cowboys running back played through a knee injury in last week’s win over the Detroit Lions.
What is the latest on Elliott’s status, and should fantasy football managers prepare to be without him Sunday afternoon against the Bears?
Update (10/28): Jerry Jones hinted that Zeke Elliott may not play in Week 8.
Ezekiel Elliott Injury Update
I was watching the game live when Elliott took a shot directly to the front of his knee. His leg bent backward, and he immediately came up hobbling. Fortunately, Elliott’s knee wasn’t planted in the ground when it happened. Had that been the case, his season would almost certainly be over.
The notoriously resilient Elliott sat out a couple of players before reentering the game. It was a welcome sight, as I had Elliott’s rushing yards higher on Underdog Fantasy (he still didn’t get there, though).
Playing through injury is nothing new for him. Last season, Zeke played the majority of the season with a partially torn PCL. A true pinnacle of health, Elliott has missed just one game in his career due to injury.
Elliott’s status is going to take a lot of sifting through the weeds to try and decipher. We know for a fact that he has a knee injury. What we don’t know is how severe it actually is.
The Star Telegram’s Clarence Hill reported that Zeke has “a sprained knee, and it doesn’t look good for Sunday.” A couple of hours later, he provided more detail, tweeting that Elliott’s knee injury is actually a torn MCL.
However, Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken reported, “Elliott does not have a Grade II MCL sprain or thigh bruise.” In the accompanying article, Gehlken noted that Elliott himself said he thinks he has a knee contusion. Elliott went on to say he thinks he should be out there even if he’s not 100% but added that his knee does feel stiff.
Will Ezekiel Elliott Play in Week 8 vs. the Bears?
As fantasy managers can see, there’s a lot of information out there, and all of it can’t possibly be true. Elliott didn’t practice Wednesday, and I don’t expect him to practice Thursday.
However, it would not surprise me at all if Elliott got in a limited session on Friday to at least give himself a chance to play on Sunday. One thing we can be absolutely certain of is that Elliott wants to be out there this week. If it were up to him, he’d play.
There are two other important factors to take into account, too. First, we just saw how the Cowboys handled Dak Prescott’s injury with the utmost caution. Admittedly, a running back is different than a franchise quarterback. At the same time, the Cowboys really have no incentive to push Elliott to play with Tony Pollard fully capable of handling the work in a game the Cowboys should win.
MORE: Fantasy Injury IR Updates Week 8
Second, the Cowboys have a bye in Week 9. They could push Zeke back into action at less than 100%, but holding him out for a week would afford him two full weeks of rest.
My guess is the Cowboys end up listing Elliott as questionable for Sunday’s game, regardless of whether he practices on Friday. However, I do not think he plays. On the positive side, I do think we will see him on the field in Week 10.
Pollard currently checks in at RB26 on our Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings. If Elliott doesn’t play, there’s no doubt in my mind Pollard will vault up inside the top 12. I’d have him top five.
Pollard has made one start without Elliott in his career. In that game, he turned 18 touches into 132 total yards and two touchdowns, finishing as the overall RB1 on the week. The answer to “Who should I start? Pollard or…” is Pollard if Elliott doesn’t play.