I'm Not 'Soft!' Ezekiel Elliott OUT for Practice Again - Injury Update for Cowboys vs. Bears

FRISCO - Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys are presently engaged in an exercise with which the two-time NFL rushing champion has great experience: The differences between "pain,'' "hurt,'' "injured'' and "out.''

“I think pain is temporary and I need to be out there with my guys,'' said Elliott after missing the Wednesday workout here inside The Star with what is now being described as a "knee sprain.'' "I think it’s my job to be out there, to be available. If I can be out there, shit, why not? 

"I’m not going to take a game off because I don’t feel 100 percent. I think that’s soft.”

The "why not'' is all about whether more damage can be done to Zeke's sore knee by playing ... or whether rest - Dallas plays host to the Chicago Bears on Sunday and has a bye week after that - can allow the injury to heal. Indeed, "rest'' is what he's getting on Thursday as he is not practicing for the second straight day.

Elliott initially termed his issue a "contusion,'' but it is clearly something more than that. Should he sit out this weekend, Tony Pollard has been deemed more than capable of carrying a full load; as Pollard himself said, coining a phrase ...

"Whatever they ask me to carry, I got it,'' Pollard said. "They call it, I'mma haul it."

Pollard is the more electric of the two backs (with practice-squad kid Malik Davis maybe readying to play as well), but Elliott, 27, is putting together a solid season, rushing for 4.1 yards per carry and 443 yards overall, including four touchdowns. The Cowboys believe the running game is part of the foundation of their 5-2 start, a fact exemplified in Sunday’s 24-6 win over the Detroit Lions at AT&T Stadium.

Elliott, who kept playing in that game after a first-half incident that lead to the hyperextension (with bruising and swelling still issues) had two touchdowns that made all the difference as Dallas surged to a win behind a stout defense and bruising running game. Does he need to make a difference again this week?

 “I think it’s a consideration,'' Elliott said of sitting out. "It all depends on how I feel at the end of the week.”

America's Team ALERT! Get your Dallas Cowboys game TICKETS from SI Tickets ... here!

Follow FishSports on Twitter

Follow Cowboys / Fish on Facebook

Subscribe to the Cowboys Fish Report on YouTube for constant daily Cowboys live-stream podcasts and reports!