NFL has taken too long on Ezekiel Elliott investigation, Stephen Jones says

-- The NFL’s investigation into Ezekiel Elliott has taken more than a year and the league still hasn’t given any indication when a decision may come on the Dallas Cowboys’ star running back.

That’s too long, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. The league should conclude these things in a more timely manner in Jones’ mind. After all, the Columbus, Ohio city prosecutor’s office declined to press charges against Elliott after a six-week investigation into the matter.

“These things are tough for everybody. It’s tough for the league. It’s tough for the team. It’s tough for the player,” Jones said. “I think, at some point, you should be able to get the information in some sort of time frame that it doesn’t carry on like this particular investigation has.

“So I would hope as a league, just like we do everything else, that we look for ways to get more efficient and to do things in a better way. I’m not being critical.

“These things, we’re obviously in new territory when we started our own investigative team at the NFL level. It’s not like we’ve been doing this like we’ve been playing games and things of that nature, so just as we do everything we look at ways to improve it. Hopefully we’ll be better at this as we move forward in the future.”

For the time being, though, Elliott and the Cowboys hang in limbo. There was a report that surfaced early Monday when Fox Sports 1 and Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter predicted that Elliott would be suspended within “the next 48 hours.”

The NFL and Jones dismissed that report as speculation.

The NFL says the matter is still being reviewed and commissioner Roger Goodell has brought on a panel of four experts to advise him in how to handle the situation.

But the Cowboys remain hopeful that Elliott will be cleared of any possible game suspension.

“Hopefully we’ll have Zeke for the full 16,” Jones said. “That’s what we’re counting on.”

Elliott, 22, was initially investigated by the NFL for domestic violence allegations made against him by an ex girlfriend in July 2016. The Columbus, Ohio city prosecutor’s office declined to pursue charges in early September because of inconsistent information from the victim.

The league, however, does not need a legal charge in order to hand Elliott a suspension under its personal conduct policy.

Along with the domestic violence allegations, Elliott has made headlines for the wrong reasons this offseason too. He exposed a woman’s breast during a St. Patrick’s Day parade and allegedly got into a bar altercation days before the Cowboys left for training camp.

This story was originally published August 7, 2017 at 9:16 PM with the headline "NFL has taken too long on Ezekiel Elliott investigation, Stephen Jones says."