It’s hard to say what will happen with the Cowboys’ Tony Pollard, who is entering free agency for the second consecutive year and whose status in Dallas is uncertain after what was a mostly disappointing showing in 2023. Pollard was given a franchise-tag contract last year, worth $10.1 million for one season, on the basis that he would be given a trial run as the lead back after the departure of Ezekiel Elliott.
It did not go all that well, though it was not a complete disaster. Pollard logged 1,005 yards this season, which was good for 12th in the NFL and only two yards off last year’s total (1,007). But he did so on 252 carries, and his average of 4.0 yards per carry was well off last year’s mark, 5.2 yards per rush.
That has fueled speculation that the Cowboys might look for another top-flight running back next season.
Pollard, though, is hoping that’s not the case. His plan, he says, is Cowboys first.
As he told the “Blogging the Boys” podcast this week: “If I could choose, I would love to be in Dallas. But at the end of the day, you know it’s a business. So, it is what it is. You gotta be ready for what comes.”
Cowboys’ Tony Pollard: ‘A Bit Soon’ to Worry About Free Agency
It’s not even Valentine’s Day, though, and Pollard knows that it’s still too early to get a sense of what might happen next. We’re still more than a month away from when players and teams can begin signing contracts.
“It’s a bit soon right now, especially with the current season going on,” Pollard said. “But after the Super Bowl, when the free-agency market gets going, I feel like it will be a little bit more of a clearer picture for me to see how things are going.”
In the meantime, Pollard said he will start in on training after the Super Bowl. He was not completely healthy last season, having suffered a nasty leg injury in the playoff loss to San Francisco the previous year. Pollard said it was not until Week 10 that he felt fully healthy.
That was the week he scored his first touchdown since the season opener, a drought of eight games. Pollard scored four touchdowns in the final eight games.
“I would say probably the Carolina game, that was when I felt like I was back to myself after that,” he said.
Turned off the NFL After Packers Loss
As for the way this season ended, with the 48-32 blowout loss to the Packers—a huge disappointment after another 12-5 season and the No. 2 seed—Pollard said it has taken him some time to file that away. The Super Bowl will be the first NFL game he’s watched since.
“It was a tough loss, it was a tough way to go out to end our season, especially playing as good as we were, throughout the course of the season, it definitely was a disappointing loss for us,” he said.
“I haven’t watched football since that game. I just feel like the way that we went out, we’re a much better team than that. That was tough for us to go out that way. So, I haven’t even watched it. I’m gonna watch the Super Bowl, though.”
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Cowboys’ Tony Pollard Reveals Free Agency Plans: ‘It’s a Business’