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After a year of investigating Ezekiel Elliott's domestic violence case, it appears that the NFL might finally be ready to drop the hammer on the Cowboys running back. 

According to NFL.com, a decision on any potential Elliott suspension or punishment "could come as early as Friday." The league's investigation into Elliott started in July 2016 after a woman accused him of assault in Columbus, Ohio. 

Less than two months after the accusation was made, the city attorney's office in Columbus announced that Elliott would not face any charges from the alleged incident. At the time, the attorney's office explained that it wouldn't be pressing charges "due to conflicting and inconsistent information" from Elliott's ex-girlfriend.

Although the announcement from the attorney's office put Elliott in the clear from a legal standpoint, the NFL said that it would still be investigating the incident as part of its new domestic violence policy that can lead to a player being suspended for six games for a first offense.

Under the league's policy, a player doesn't necessarily have to be formally charged with a crime to be punished by the NFL.

CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has been reporting since last October that Elliott could face a suspension. 

According to NFL.com, the league is also looking at "multiple" other incidents involving Elliott, although it's unclear what those are. Elliott was allegedly involved in a fight at a bar in July. 

That fight came right around the time that he reportedly had a meeting at NFL headquarters in New York with four independent advisers who were brought on by the league. Apparently, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been waiting to for those four advisers to complete their review of the case before handing out any possible punishment. 

Although it's still a complete mystery about how all of this might play out, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is confident that Elliott won't be suspended. 

"I don't want to, basically, be too -- let's say proactive -- about how I feel, because that's not going to make any difference here at all. What I don't want to do is hurt things," Jones said on Aug. 4, via the Cowboys' website. "But I think that, when you look at everything I'm aware of, that I'm not anticipating a suspension."

Dez Bryant also seems to feel the same way. 

No matter what happens, the Cowboys should know soon whether or not Elliott will be available for the beginning of the regular season.