Ezekiel Elliott is back from his six-game suspension for alleged incidents of domestic violence and he reported to the Cowboys' facility in tremendous shape. But if you were expecting Elliott to reflect on his suspension or reveal what exactly he did for the past six weeks, you're going to be disappointed.
When Elliott met with reporters on Wednesday for the first time since his suspension went into effect early last month, he refused to talk about it or how he spent his time away from the team.
"I'm not really going to talk about it. It's behind me," Elliott said of the suspension, via ESPN. "I'm just trying to start a new page, a new chapter. I just want to thank this Cowboys organization for being behind me.
"I'm thankful to my family, my team, my friends for supporting me through the time and especially the Cowboys fans who stuck by me through this tough time and have a lot of faith in me. But I'm not talking about it anymore. This is the last time you'll hear me speak about it. So please don't even ask me about it."
When Elliott received another question about his training in Mexico, he said, "All right, I'm done. Thank you."
It shouldn't exactly be surprising to hear Elliott refuse to talk about his suspension considering what he was suspended for: alleged incidents of domestic violence. So what did Elliott want to talk about? How great it was to be back, which didn't exactly make for the best material in terms of quotes.
"It was great. The energy was high," Elliott said. "I missed all the guys. They missed me, and we're excited to continue the season."
After 6 weeks of training thanks to a NFL-mandated suspension, this is what #Cowboys RB Zeke Elliott looks like now: pic.twitter.com/7upcaegOyo
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 17, 2017
Elliott will make his return to a Cowboys team that is still alive in the playoff race, but only just barely. First, they'll need to finish the season by beating the Seahawks and Eagles. The good news: The banged up Seahawks are allowing 200 rushing yards per game in the past two weeks and the Eagles are without quarterback Carson Wentz.
However, there are also factors outside of their control that will determine if they'll make it into January. That's the bad news. Earlier on Wednesday, our Ryan Wilson broke down what needs to happen for the Cowboys to make the playoffs:
Wild-card possibility No. 1: Cowboys win out, the Falcons lose out and the Lions lose at least once.
Wild-card possibility No. 2: Cowboys win out, the Saints lose out and the Lions lose at least once.
Wild-card possibility No. 3: Cowboys win out, the Panthers and Saints both lose out.
Getting Zeke back will obviously help their chances to go unbeaten in their final two games. Before serving his suspension, Elliott racked up 993 yards and nine touchdowns from scrimmage in eight games. But even still, the Cowboys' season is on life support considering how much help they need from other teams.
According to Football Outsiders, the Cowboys have a 10.9 percent chance to make the playoffs.