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The Dallas Cowboys could sign an offensive playmaker to a $27 million deal, as one analyst suggests.
As suggested by LP Cruz of SB Nation’s Blogging the Boys, the Cowboys could end up offering running back Tony Pollard a three-year, $27 million deal with $18 million guaranteed.
Cruz warns that Dallas will learn from their previous deal with Ezekiel Elliott — six years, $90 million — and won’t offer nearly as much money or years to Pollard as they did for Elliott back in 2019. Pollard is currently playing under the franchise tag ($10.1 million) and will be a free agent next offseason.
“In Pollard’s case, there is mutual interest for both sides to agree, and it’s a matter of Pollard wanting the security that the running back market currently doesn’t offer,” writes Cruz. “Pollard is 26 years old, and hopefully, the Cowboys have learned from their mistake of providing a running back with an unusually long contract as they did with Ezekiel Elliott. The team should sign Pollard to three years, $27M contract with $18M guaranteed.”
Why Cowboys Won’t Offer Tony Pollard Bigger Deal
In this proposed deal, Pollard would be one of the eight highest-paid running backs on an average annual basis while also gaining some long-term security. In fact, the $18 million guaranteed would give him the sixth-largest guarantee of any running back in the league.
The potential deal makes sense when considering two major factors — for one, Pollard is coming off of a major injury, suffering a broken fibula injury in the Cowboys’ divisional round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. There are questions as to whether or not he’ll regain the form that made him a Pro Bowl playmaker last season, gaining over 1,000 rushing yards in addition to 12 total touchdowns.
Secondly, running backs are as devalued as ever and it’s clear you don’t need a dominant or highly-paid running back to win a Super Bowl. In fact, Marcus Mosher of The Raiders Wire points out how the highest-paid leading rusher of a Super Bowl squad (since 2009) was Percy Harvin of the Seattle Seahawks, who earned just $2.5 million during the 2013 season. It’s worth mentioning that seventh-round draft pick Isaiah Pacheco was the Kansas City Chiefs’ leading rusher during their Super Bowl season last year and he earned just $725,000.
“While there’s no mistaking Pollard’s talent and explosive running, he is recovering from an injury, and the landscape for what running backs demand contractually has shifted,” writes Cruz.
Veteran running back Melvin Gordon recently complained about how players at his position have it “tough” these days.
“It’s just so tough for running backs right now, man,” Gordon said to Jim Rome on CBS Sports Radio in June. “You have a lot of running backs that’s out there and we just don’t get no love. It’s literally the worst position to play in the NFL right now. It literally sucks.”
Why Tony Pollard Has Some Leverage in New Deal
With all of that said, Pollard does have a little bit of leverage considering Dallas no longer features Elliott on its roster. Secondly, the Cowboys don’t exactly have proven depth beyond Pollard, with Deuce Vaughn, Rico Dowdle and Malik Davis all being inexperienced running backs. The lone exception is Ronald Jones, who previously served as a starting running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but carried the ball just 17 times last season.
As long as Pollard proves he’s as efficient as he was last year and is somewhat durable as the lead back, expect Dallas to offer their starting running back a decent deal with some security before he becomes a free agent.
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