Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott made a return to 345 Park Avenue on Tuesday, and he issued a statement after meeting with Commissioner Roger Goodell that seemed, frankly, a bit ominous.
Still, as with Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill, no one knows what Roger Goodell will do. And anyone who tries to predict what Goodell will do is doing just that — predicting.
A pair of NFL Media reporters have offered their own predictions in the aftermath of Elliott’s meeting with the man who suspended Elliott two years ago. Mike Garafolo says there’s “optimism” the Elliott will avoid a suspension for his interaction with a 19-year-old security guard at a Las Vegas music festival. Jane Slater reports, citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the situation, that “they’re confident there won’t be a suspension for Ezekiel Elliott.” Unless the “they” is Roger Goodell or his inner circle, they could be as wrong as they were two years ago, when they were confident Elliott wouldn’t be suspended the first time, and that after he was he’d successfully avoid it in court.
Regardless of any optimism or confidence, only one man knows what the outcome will be, and that one man said enough to Elliott today to spark a social-media mea culpa suggesting the kind of contrition that comes only after someone has had the fear of Go(o)d(ell) placed into him.
It’s important to remember that Elliott already has been suspended for a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy. This makes him a “repeat offender” in the eyes of the policy, and the policy plainly states that “[r]epeat offenders will be subject to enhanced and/or expedited discipline, including banishment from the league with an opportunity to reapply.”
So unless the NFL Media employees are getting their information from the guy who signs their paychecks, it’s impossible to know what said paycheck-signing guy will be doing when it comes to whether Elliott will be forfeiting one or more of his own paychecks during the 2019 season. Soon enough, we’ll all know what Goodell has decided to do.