CLEVELAND – Jerry Jones was firm in his support of Ezekiel Elliott in the light of recent scrutiny that has faced his star running back.
The Cowboys' owner and general manager was asked Sunday night if he was concerned by off-field speculation that has surrounded Elliott in recent weeks, and his answer was unmistakable.
"Everything that I know regarding any of Zeke's behavior makes me satisfied that we don't have any issue," Jones said following the Cowboys' 35-10 win against the Browns.
Elliott has appeared in the news multiple times over the past few weeks as a result of his domestic violence investigation from the summer. It started last week with the widely-circulated report that Elliott was still under investigation by the NFL for a July incident with a former girlfriend, and that he could possibly be subject to suspension.
The rookie was accused of abusing the woman over the summer and was ultimately investigated by the Columbus Police Department – which did not file any charges.
Earlier this week, reports also surfaced that Elliott had been involved in an altercation with the same woman back in February, before he was drafted.
Elliott's attorney, Frank Salzano, put out a strongly-worded statement this week, asserting his client's innocence.
"For the past several days the media has elected to focus on allegations of domestic violence involving Mr. Elliott despite the Columbus, Ohio Prosecutor's Office decision not to charge Mr. Elliott nearly two months ago," Salzano said in a statement. "As previously reported, the prosecutor's office conducted a thorough seven-week investigation whereby in their own words they 'dotted every I and crossed every T' and concluded there was no credible evidence to file any charges against Mr. Elliott. My office provided a mountain of exculpatory evidence demonstrating Mr. Elliott's innocence and directly contradicting all of the false allegations contained in the Accuser's two police reports as first reported on July 22, 2016."
For his part, Jones reiterated that he was well aware of all the stories regarding Elliott – and he was not concerned about them.
"There's been nothing, nothing that I don't know about that anybody has brought up," he said. I'm very comfortable that I've got Zeke's full story. I'm real comfortable. We haven't been worried about that since training camp."
