With Tony Pollard ready to carry load for Dallas Cowboys, what could it mean for future?
Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard has heard the noise from both ends of the spectrum.
There are those who firmly believe he should be the team’s primary running back over Ezekiel Elliott because of his more efficient production and explosiveness.
And there are those who believe Pollard is not durable enough to carry a full load and is too shaky as a blocker to be a full-time back. He has never been a full-time back in his entire football career
With Elliott expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears with a sprained knee, it’s an opportunity to find an answer to the Pollard conundrum.
And he didn’t blink when asked what Elliott’s injury situation means for him.
“Whatever they ask of me to carry, I got it,” Pollard said. “They call it, I’m gonna haul it.”
The Cowboys have confidence in Pollard and plan to continue to feature the running game.
“I think Tony can handle whatever we ask of him,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “Our game plan approach is the same.”
It’s easier said than done, considering that Pollard’s highest number of rushing attempts came in 2017 when he was in college at Memphis and carried it 17 times against Wake Forest.
He has never had more than 14 attempts in a game since joining the Cowboys in 2019 and that was once in 2021.
There are no doubts about Pollard production and big-play ability with his game breaking speed.
Pollard’s role has progressively increased each of the last three seasons.
In 2021, he set career highs in rushing yards (719), catches (39) and receiving yards (337), Pollard averaged 5.5 yards per carry for the season, fifth best in the league and second best among running backs. He also had 17 rushes of 10-plus yards in 2021 on only 130 carries (13.1%), the 11th-highest percentage of 10-plus gains in the league (minimum 100 carries).
Pollard has only picked up where he left off in 2022 and has prospered with an increased role.
He has 67 carries for 375 yards in seven games, averaging a robust 5.6 yards per carry.
Pollard has rushed for over 80 yards in two of the last three games and the three most productive games by a Cowboys running back this season. He is coming off a 12-carry, 83-yard performance against the Detroit Lions, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
Contrast that to Elliott, who has rushed for 443 yards on 109 carries and four touchdowns.
Still a question of durability remains.
Pollard is not bothered by people who question his ability to carry a full load but he certainly uses it as motivation.
“I can’t really control that so I just work on what I can control and focus on that,” Pollard said. “I mean, I’m always trying to go out there and show what I can do, prove myself right, prove others wrong and just play team ball.”
Pollard did prepare his body in the offseason to take a bigger load for 2022 as the Cowboys planned for him to work more in tandem with Elliott than simply a back up and change of pace role he has had in the past.
It’s been a steady process of adding strength and weight since his rookie season without losing any speed or quickness.
Pollard weighed 208 pounds as a rookie. He is now at a solid 217.
He has also worked to get better as a run blocker.
“I do a good job in the offseason, during the season of trying to stay in shape, working in the weight room and just being ready for whatever it is that I’m ready to do,” Pollard said. “I would say I’ve gotten better in pretty much all aspects of my game. Just mentally slowing things down in my head so I can play even faster and just being comfortable out there.”
The question now is how comfortable can he get as the Cowboys featured back in Elliott’s absence.
That answer has far reaching implications that go beyond Sunday’s game against the Bears.
Pollard is in the final year of his contract and the Cowboys must make a decision on his future as he will certainly have suitors in free agency if proves he can be more than a back up and change of pace option.
Elliott’s future is also up in the air.
He could be asked to take a pay cut or be outright released because of declining production, ailing health and non-congruent price tag. Elliott has a $10.9 base salary and a $16.7 million cap hit in 2023.
The Cowboys could save roughly $12 million off next year’s cap by cutting him before June 1.
He has suffered a sprained right knee in each of the past 2 seasons. Last year he played through a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament. It’s a sprained medial collateral ligament that’s bothering him now, further clouding his future.
As a result, this year’s tandem is set to be its own offseason conundrum.
Pollard can take a step toward securing his own place by showing he can carry a bigger load, starting Sunday against the Lions.
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 11:35 AM.
