Cowboys’ Morris ready to replace Elliott

FRISCO, Texas — Alfred Morris struck the same defiant tone from the last time the Dallas running back was preparing to replace suspended star Ezekiel Elliott.

Roughly the same answer, too, heading into today’s game at Atlanta.

"I've treated every single day like I have the past six years," Morris said Friday, a day after a court rejected Elliott's latest bid to delay a sixgame suspension over alleged domestic violence. "Nothing changes for me. It's just, 'OK, it's another start. OK. It's fine.' The ups and downs, they really didn't matter to me."

Early last week, Morris thought he would get his first start since 2015 in place of Elliott before a judge granted an emergency request to put the suspension on hold.

So Morris was the backup who got one carry while the NFL's second-leading rusher had 93 yards and the goahead touchdown in a 28-17 win over Kansas City.

Early this week, Morris was behind Elliott again until the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ended Elliott's last hope to avoid missing games.

So Morris showed up Friday as the apparent starter, although the Cowboys (5-3) haven't officially declared him as such against the Falcons. Dallas plays four games before Elliott's next hearing Dec. 1.

"I never know when I'm going to touch the field," said Morris, who had 70 of his 116 yards rushing this season on one carry in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. "Sunday, I have a better idea at least how it's going to start the game off. We'll see how everything plays out. Of course I'm excited to get more snaps and more carries, get more opportunities to help my team win."

Morris ran for 1,613 yards as a rookie with Washington in 2012. He was no longer the featured back for the Redskins when he chose the Cowboys in free agency last year, about two months before Elliott was drafted fourth overall and went on to lead the NFL in rushing as a rookie.

The 28-year-old Morris was a somewhat surprising choice as the backup when the season started because Darren McFadden led Dallas in rushing in 2015. That was a year after the Cowboys let 2014 rushing leader DeMarco Murray go in free agency.