Getty Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott rushed for a career-low 979 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games in 2020.
Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott was cited by the Frisco Police Department on Thursday on “loose animal violations” and a probe involving the $90 million running back is now underway, CBSDFW.com first reported.
According to the report, three dogs owned by Elliott — including a Rottweiler — broke free from his residence in Starwood and attacked two people Thursday morning, May 21, 2021. The victims were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, CBSDFW reported.
Elliott was not home at the time of the incident, according to the station. His dogs were subsequently “contained,” with the Rottweiler placed in “quarantine.”
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Elliott Sued in 2020 for Separate Dog-Related Incident
The FPD animal services division has opened an investigation into the attack, according to CBSDFW. Police said charges “are possible” depending on the findings of the investigation, the station reported.
“We are still looking at the specifics of everything,” Frisco Police Sergeant Evan Mattei stated, per the report.
As Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk pointed out, this is the second time in as many years that Elliott has landed in hot water over his pooches:
Elliott was sued last year after a separate incident when a woman on-site at Elliott’s residence to clean his pool was bitten by the dogs. She claimed that all three dogs had bitten her with the rottweiler dragging her by the arm. The lawsuit said she needed surgery for her arm injury and will likely be scarred for life.
Additionally, that lawsuit had claimed there had been another pool cleaner that had also been bit by Elliott’s dogs.
Elliott Named 12th-Best NFL Running Back by PFF
It hasn’t been the greatest of weeks for Elliott, who on Tuesday learned he’s considered merely the 12th-best running back in the NFL. To the data-driven minds at Pro Football Focus, the likes of Seattle’s Chris Carson, Las Vegas’ Josh Jacobs and Los Angeles’ Austin Ekeler all are better on the ground.
The sports analytics giant released its 2021 running back rankings and slotted Elliott remarkably low — No. 12 overall, just ahead of Chicago’s David Montgomery. Context: Elliott twice has led the league in rushing while Montgomery has never so much as made a Pro Bowl. But the former’s career-worst 2020 season, in which he failed to crack 1,000 yards in 15 starts, evidently warrants this placement.
“You don’t have to go back very far to find Zeke Elliott at the top of lists like these, but he is coming off a tough year in which he ground out 4.0 yards per carry with a 68.7 PFF rushing grade behind an offensive line that struggled,” analyst Sam Monson wrote. “Elliott hasn’t looked at his best for some time now but remains a good back without many real flaws.”
Interestingly, Elliott’s game-breaking understudy, Tony Pollard, is not too far removed from Dallas’ workhorse, checking in at No. 21 — and potentially climbing.
“If Pollard was sitting behind any other back, he might have already carved a far bigger role for himself,” Monson wrote. “He is tied with Nick Chubb for the best broken tackle rate in the league since he was drafted (0.25) and tied with Derrick Henry for the best yards after contact per carry average (4.0).”
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