Over the past two weeks, fantasy football managers have been debating whether Ezekiel Elliott will play in Week 10. There was a chance Zeke, who missed the Dallas Cowboys’ final game before the bye week, would play in this game. Let’s look at Elliott’s most recent injury update and what it means for Tony Pollard’s and their respective fantasy value this week.
Is Ezekiel Elliott in action right now?
Over the previous two of games, there has been a lot of back and forth on Elliott’s condition. Even while there is some hope that Elliott might play in Week 10, it still appears as though his situation is uncertain. According to Ed Werder of ESPN, who reported this on Saturday, the Cowboys won’t judge Zeke until after the pregame.
Werder also stated that since Elliott had brought up “long-term factors” while discussing his availability during the previous few weeks, we could “expect a careful conclusion.” Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network repeated this doubt on Sunday morning. According to his report, the team will be cautious and Elliott won’t play if there is even the slightest amount of uncertainty.
For fantasy managers, it should be assumed that Elliott will be out or, at best, highly limited as of Sunday morning. If the second of those statements is accurate, Elliott would be surprising if he even considered risking worsening the injury given that Pollard is healthy and capable of handling a respectable workload. Additionally, the Cowboys signed Qadree Ollison from the practice squad, indicating that they do not anticipate Elliott to play.
Due to the late afternoon kickoff time for this game, many fantasy managers will need to make choices before we fully understand Elliott’s condition. So it makes sense to assume Elliott will be replaced and Pollard will take Elliott’s place as the top player.
Elliott might be a fascinating late-round Best Ball option on Underdog Fantasy if we get a sign that he could play because he might see some high-leverage goal-line work.