Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott Inactive For Week 9, Won't Travel for 'Disciplinary Reasons'

The running back had appeared in all seven games for Dallas this season.

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott celebrates his first down run during a September 8 game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will be inactive for the club's Week 9 game vs. the Atlanta Falcons and won't travel with the team to Georgia for "disciplinary reasons", according to multiple reports. ESPN's Todd Archer was first to report the news.

Elliott, 29, returned on a one-year deal to the team that drafted him on May 1. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the media shortly before the signing was reported that he believed Elliott could still be a starting halfback in the NFL.

That hasn't exactly come to fruition this season in Dallas, though. Elliott—listed as the second running back on the depth chart—has worked in tandem with fellow back Rico Dowdle, who leads the team in carries, rushing yards and yards per carry. The Dallas offense ranks last in the NFL in rushing yards per game with 74.1.

All the while, Elliott had seen his snap count percentage decline from 51 percent in Week 1 to 18 percent in Week 4, though his playing time has normalized in the weeks since.

Earlier in October, Elliott was asked about his role in the offense, and he was reportedly "dumbfounded" at his usage—a characterization that Jones pushed back against.

It's unclear if Elliott's potential discontent with his role has any factor in the healthy scratch, the first in a non-season finale in his nine-year career.

The Cowboys (3-4) are looking to end a two-game losing streak on the road against the Falcons.

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