Decision on Elliott could be coming soon
Broncos won’t take chances with Miller
OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says “everything’s in place” for an NFL decision over a possible suspension of Ezekiel Elliott and that his star running back met recently with league officials.
Elliott, the NFL rushing leader last season as a rookie, could be suspended over a domestic incident with his then-girlfriend last year even though prosecutors in Ohio declined to pursue the case. The league has been investigating for more than a year.
Jones said Saturday night that Elliott met with officials in New York within the past month but declined to say whether Commissioner Roger Goodell was involved.
“They have had their hearing,” Jones said after practice at training camp. “Everything’s in place to make a decision.”
Elliott also was involved in a bar fight in Dallas a week before training camp but wasn’t named in a police report about the incident. The report said a 30-yearold man was punched in the nose and hospitalized.
Goodell has the authority to suspend players without convictions under the league’s personal conduct policy. The NFL amended the policy three years ago to strengthen punishments in domestic cases.
WHITEHEAD: Lucky Whitehead is fully focused on football again after a bizarre week during which he lost his job and was entangled in a curious legal situation.
The wide receiver-kick returner was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets on Wednesday, two days after the Dallas Cowboys cut him following a shoplifting charge in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
“It’s been crazy,” Whitehead said after practice Saturday. “A lot’s been going on. I’m just happy to get an opportunity to start over and clean my slate.”
In June, a man used Whitehead’s identity to steal $40 worth of food and drink from a Virginia convenience store. After reports surfaced that Whitehead was arrested and subsequently cited for missing a court hearing, Dallas released him.
BRONCOS: Outside linebackers Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett are both out until September, so Denver isn’t taking many chances with Von Miller.
Miller’s training camp workload already was limited because of his superstar status, and his snaps will be further minimized, coach Vance Joseph said Saturday as Ray underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist.
The Broncos brought back linebacker Danny Mason, who was in Denver in 2015, which “provides depth so we don’t burn Von out,” Joseph said.
Miller is often kept out of pass rushing portions of summertime workouts anyway because of how he can destroy the drills — along with O-linemen’s confidence. Now, his snaps during 11-on-11 drills and preseason games will be carefully managed. “Maybe it’s very few,” Joseph said.
BEARS: Jordan Howard broke the team’s rookie record in 2016 by rushing for 1,313 yards, second-highest overall only to Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott (1,631), and Howard averaged more per carry (5.2 to 5.1).
As good as that sounds, he was more focused on the yards he didn’t get than the ones he collected.
“I definitely should’ve had more yards,” he said. “I should’ve been in better shape.”
He showed up to training camp weighing about 230 pounds. But he said his body fat is down to about 13 percent from 15 percent.
COWBOYS: Garrett says the club expected a suspension for defensive end Damontre Moore, who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence while with Seattle last season.
Moore, also cited in Seattle for driving with a suspended license last December, became the third Dallas defensive player who will start the season on the suspended list when he received a two-game ban Friday for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy.
RAIDERS: Pro Bowl left tackle Donald Penn was a camp holdout Saturday because of a contract dispute and five other players, including first-round pick Gareon Conley, were placed on injured lists and aren’t able to practice.