Cowboys Place Ezekiel Elliott On Suspended List, DT Stephen Paea On I.R.

The Dallas Cowboys officially placed RB Ezekiel Elliott on the reserve/suspended list and added DT Stephen Paea to injured reserve.

On Thursday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to vacate Elliott’s preliminary injunction of his six-game suspension.

The NFL plans to have Elliott serve his suspension immediately, but his legal team informed a New York judge today that they intend to ask for a rehearing before the full 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to put off his suspension.

By placing Elliott on the suspended list, the Cowboys have an open roster spot to work with, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them add a few players in the coming days.

As for Paea, he reportedly informed the Cowboys that he plans to retire from the NFL. However, it appears as though he’s also dealing with an injury or the NFL got the specific list mixed up, as it would have made more sense for him to be placed on the reserve/retired list.

Elliott, 22, was taken with the No. 4 overall pick by the Cowboys back in May. He signed four-year contract worth $24,956,342, which includes a signing bonus of $16,350,068.

Elliott stands to make base salaries of $1.58 million (2017), $2.71 million (2018), and $3.85 million (2019) over the remainder of the contract. The agreement also includes a fifth-year option for the team to consider in 2019.

In 2017, Elliott has appeared in five games and rushed for 393 yards on 105 carries (3.7 YPC) to go along with 17 receptions for 134 yards receiving and three total touchdowns.

Paea, 29, is a former second-round pick of the Bears back in 2011. He played out his rookie contract with the Bears before signing on with the Redskins as an unrestricted free agent in 2015.

Paea was in the second year of his four-year, $21 million contract that included $15 million guaranteed when the Redskins cut him loose at the start of last year. He would later sign a one-year deal with the Browns at the start of the season and finish out the season in Cleveland.

The Cowboys signed Paea to a one-year, $2 million contract this past March.

For his career, Paea recorded 76 tackles, 14 sacks, one safety, three forced fumble and five pass defenses over the course of seven seasons and 83 games played.