The Dallas Cowboys find themselves dealing with a bit of a bind as we head into the opener of the NFL season, with the team losing primary backup running back Malik Davis because of what is being termed a “serious” injury that will keep him out at least month with an IR stint, and more likely longer. The injury occurred at practice on Friday, and since then, the Cowboys have been reeling, looking at likely inserting Emari Demercado as the RB2–just two weeks after signing him off waivers from Kansas City–with Israel Abanikanda coming up from the practice squad.
But there is some question about whether that will be enough for a team that has vowed to give starter Javonte Williams more rest this year after he carried for a career-high 252 times in 2025, and tallied 1,201 yards (also a career high). That’s caused a familiar idea to be resurrected for the Cowboys: Bringing back Tony Pollard, who’s currently in his final contract season with the Titans.
Could Tony Pollard Be in Cowboys Future?
On Saturday morning, that notion was raised by veteran Cowboys reporter Mike Fisher.
In a YouTube video, Fisher said, “You’ve got a running back issue. You’ve got something just under about $30 million in cap room. … Get Tony Pollard. Or another running back. The idea of Pollard coming back to the Cowboys predates the Malik injury. This gets tossed around a bit, mostly because he used to play here.
“And I’ve always supposed, prior to the Malik thing, if Javonte Williams after a 1,200 yard, 11-rushing touchdown season, Dallas would go shopping. And maybe something on this level.”
Cowboys Will Look at Emari Demercado
But would the Cowboys go shopping for Tony Pollard as a backup to Williams? That is more of a stretch. First off, they will want to see what they have in Emari Demercado, the former Cardinals backup who carried 126 times in three seasons in Arizona, with 819 yards and 6.5 yards per carry–a more than respectable average. Demercado was pursued on the recommendation of Klayton Adams, the Cowboys offensive coordinator who was the Cardinals offensive line coach in 2023 and 2024.
The Cowboys could also bring back waived running back Phil Mafah, who is still a free agent after he was released on roster cut-down day, and are likely to have RB tryouts next week, Fisher said.
Tony Pollard Has Hit 1,000 Yards Last 2 Years
But, on the subject of Pollard, there is still some production left in the ex-Cowboys 1,000-yard man. His average has dipped, but not his willingness to be a workhorse, even on a bad team. Pollard took 260 carries for 1,079 yards in 2024 and 242 carries for 1,082 in 2025.
He has a $9.25 million cap hit, per Spotrac.
Fisher added that it would only make sense to go after Pollard if he could be had for a late pick and if there was still a need at teh deadline: “I will acknowledge that the Titans might be bad, Pollard is in the final year of his contract. And so, if we get to November 10 and they’re bad you’re good, and you have a need, and they want to dump him, maybe I will bit the bullet—I think it is $10 million—maybe I bite the bullet and do that.
“I might be loading up at that time. I would not want to give anything close to a premium pick.”
Ex-Cowboys 1,000-Yard Rusher Floated as RB2 Option After Injury