Judge won’t lift Ezekiel injunction
FRISCO, Texas — A federal judge in Texas has denied the NFL’s request to suspend his injunction that blocked a six-game suspension for Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant on Monday was expected and came after the NFL had already moved on to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans with the same request.
In his ruling, Mazzant criticized the NFL for not waiting for his decision after using the argument of premature filings against the NFL Players Association in Elliott’s request for the injunction. The judge wrote that the “irony is not lost on the court.”
The NFL filed a request for an emergency stay with the appeals court Friday, and the union issued a response the next day. The league responded to the union’s filing Monday. All the filings make similar arguments from the original lawsuit the NFLPA filed on Elliott’s behalf in Mazzant’s court.
Rob Gronkowski says the groin injury he suffered in New Orleans is not serious and pronounced himself as “day to day” regarding this week’s game against the Houston Texans.
Gronkowski, who missed most of the second half of last season and the Super Bowl because of back surgery, caught six passes for 116 yards and a TD before leaving after a third-quarter hit. He did not return and was on the sideline riding the stationary bike.
Andrew Luck will miss his third consecutive game Sunday after being ruled out by Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano on Monday. And there’s still no timetable for his return to practice.
While Pagano didn’t rule out the possibility of Luck coming back Wednesday, Pagano acknowledged that doctors still have not cleared the franchise quarterback to participate.
Luck missed all offseason workouts, all of training camp and the preseason after having surgery in January to repair a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.
Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase declined Monday to discuss linebacker Lawrence Timmons’ future with the team, which may be brief.
Timmons went AWOL Saturday, the day before the Dolphins’ season opener at the Los Angeles Chargers. The Dolphins later made contact, but he wasn’t with them at the game and didn’t fly back to South Florida on the team plane after Miami’s 19-17 win.
Gase said he hadn’t talked with Timmons about his brief but untimely disappearance, and didn’t know whether the linebacker had returned to the team complex.
Gase declined to say whether Timmons might play Sunday at the Jets.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer says Sam Bradford’s left knee is “feeling better” a day after the quarterback missed Minnesota’s game against Pittsburgh. But Zimmer is unsure when Bradford will play again.
Zimmer gave short and ornery answers Sunday when asked about Bradford following the loss to the Steelers. On Monday, he apologized for snapping and joked that there was no wine in the locker room after the difficult loss to help calm him.
Mike Glennon remains the Chicago Bears’ starting quarterback for now.
Coach John Fox says Glennon will start against the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend despite a rough outing at Tampa Bay that fueled more calls for No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky.
He says the Bears “still feel pretty good” with the fifth-year pro and insists the problems in Sunday’s 29-7 loss at Tampa Bay go beyond the quarterback.
Glennon threw two interceptions with one getting returned for a touchdown Sunday. He also lost a fumble on a sack, leading to another TD for Tampa Bay.