After the NFL said Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott's appeal had no chance of success, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City issued a one-page order Friday temporarily blocking a lower-court ruling that shot down his previous appeals.
Elliott joined his teammates Friday and played in Sunday's game against the Chiefs -- a game the Cowboys win 28-17 and a game where Elliott ran 93 yards on 27 attempts and scored one touchdown.
Whether he plays Sunday against the Falcons, however, remains to be seen.
On Monday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City said Elliott's case was on the docket for 2 p.m. ET Thursday, Nov. 9. Until then, Elliott can practice and prepare for the next game in Atlanta. What happens that day, though, will determine if he steps on the field or begins serving his league-imposed six game suspension.
The case will be heard in Judge Katherine Polk Failla's courtroom. Failla is the same judge who previously dissolved the TRO blocking Elliott's suspension. Whether or not Failla should recuse herself in the case has been a subject of conversation since her husband works for the law firm who helped negotiate the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement.
NBC Sports' Mike Florio reported last Tuesday that Failla said in a June 2012 judicial questionnaire that she would recuse herself from cases in which Proskauer Rose, her husband's firm, represented a party. Florio pointed out that Proskauer Rose isn't representing the NFL in the Elliott case, but the league is using the CBA as a basis for Elliott's suspension.
