The emergence of running back Tony Pollard last season was enough for the Cowboys to part ways with fan-favorite backfield mate Ezekiel Elliott. It was a cost-saving move for Dallas, which then used the franchise tag on Pollard. Moving on from Elliott all but cemented the fact the team was passing the torch to Pollard as its new No. 1 back.
At least for the 2023 season, it seems.
As ESPN's Todd Archer first revealed, Pollard’s outlook beyond this coming season is cloudy at best. Archer believes it’s “highly likely” this year will be Pollard’s last with the Cowboys.
“It’s highly likely this will be Pollard’s final season with the Cowboys—and it would have little to do with Pollard and everything else to do with the Cowboys dealing with their salary cap in 2024 and beyond.”
Obviously, there are alternate ways this plays out, but Archer pointed to the team’s decision on tight end Dalton Schultz, who was franchise tagged last year and is now with the Texans, as an example. He also states that if Pollard has the equivalent of a monster season, the Cowboys could choose to tag him again for a price of $12 million.
Cowboys fans have fully embraced Pollard, who had a career year in 2022, his fourth NFL season. The explosive 26-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Cowboys in 2019 and his numbers have progressively improved culminating in a 2022 campaign featuring 1,007 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per attempt with nine touchdowns on the ground. Pollard also caught 39 passes last season for 371 yards and three additional scores.
