Getty Tony Pollard
The Dallas Cowboys are bracing for the doomsday scenario in which No. 21 doesn’t report to the team by Sept. 8.
The contingency plan calls for No. 36 — rookie sensation Tony Pollard — to assume Ezekiel Elliott’s role as the lead running back, with veteran Alfred Morris as his handcuff.
A plan they’re perfectly content executing if push came to shove.
“Yeah, I mean, we’ve been preparing for that,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said of Elliott’s holdout stretching into the regular season, per Pro Football Talk. “That’s why we brought Alfred in. As we’ve said, we’ve been so pleasantly surprised, Pollard has been even better than we expected. We’re very comfortable with what we have there.
“. . .We’re comfortable with that group if that’s what it is. Obviously, we’re still going to be doing everything we can to do something with Zeke.”
A fourth-round pick from Memphis, Pollard has been the talk of the summer, replacing Elliott so seamlessly that owner Jerry Jones now-infamously quipped, “Zeke who?” He’s rushed for a team-leading 84 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries (5.6 yards per tote), with a long run of 20 yards, heading into Thursday’s preseason finale. He’s also chipped in three receptions for 19 yards.
“Tony is very poised,” head coach Jason Garrett said after Dallas’ victory over Los Angeles on Aug. 17, per PFT. “He plays with maturity beyond his years and we’re only a couple of preseason games into it and not a lot of plays into. It kind of follows with what we’ve seen in practice and just how he handles himself. So, again he’s off to a good start. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s going about it the right way.”
The backfield sans Elliott is the sum of its parts. Morris is the elder statesmen in his second tour with the Cowboys, while rookie Mike Weber rounds out the three-headed (for now) attack, having paced the club with 17 carries this preseason. They also have fourth-year pro Darius Jackson in tow.
But the Zeke-less Cowboys likely would employ a thunder-and-lightning approach, mixing Pollard and Morris to complement quarterback Dak Prescott and his vast weaponry.
“[Elliott’s holdout] is why we brought Albert in. We felt good about that,” Jones said. “Obviously, Pollard is even better than we even expected him being. We’ll be prepared to go to work if that’s what we have to do.”
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Challenge Accepted
If his number is called against the New York Giants, Pollard won’t shy away from RB1 responsibilities. Conversely, he’s embracing them, “ready for whatever” happens between his mentor and employer.
“I 100 percent believe in myself,” Pollard said last week, via Jon Machota of The Athletic (per Pro Football Talk), “so I feel like if that’s the case, if that happens, then I’ll be ready for it.”
He added: “I have high expectations for myself, and I have a lot of confidence in myself. I feel like I have the talent to do whatever I put my mind to.”
Team-wide Support
Sure, the Cowboys want Elliott back. Sure, they miss his Pro Bowl ability and immense God-given, game-breaking talent. But the distinction between want and need has never been clearer, and the lines between Elliott and Pollard never more blurred.
“We’re going to play with what we’ve got, and what we’ve got is a damn good back in Tony Pollard,” All-Pro guard Zack Martin said, per the Dallas Morning News (via PFT). “Obviously, we want [Elliott] out here, but we’re prepared to get ready for Week One.”
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