The thinking around the Cowboys’ running back situation has been largely counterintuitive so far this offseason. There has been a relative certainty that pending free agent Tony Pollard will remain a Cowboy, while Ezekiel Elliott, who is under contract through 2027, is not considered a guarantee to remain on the roster. A recent statement by Cowboys owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones supports one of those statements as he claims “Pollard isn’t going anywhere,” according to Jon Machota of The Athletic.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report on the matter, tweeting that Dallas will franchise tag Pollard if the two parties are unable to reach a long-term agreement by the Tuesday deadline. Jones made the team’s intentions clear, confirming that, whether it’s an extension or a franchise tag, Pollard is “a big part” of the team’s plans.
Pollard has long excited Dallas with his potential as a franchise back. Since joining the team in 2019, Pollard has averaged more yards per attempt than Elliott in every season. While it felt like a possibility every year, in 2022, Pollard finally outgained Elliott 1,007 rushing yards to 876 rushing yards despite Elliott out-carrying Pollard by 38 carries. Pollard has averaged more than five yards per carry in each of the past two seasons, while Elliott averaged 3.8 last year.
Elliott hasn’t been bad in Dallas while Pollard has started to reach his full potential, but after leading the league in rushing yards per game in each of his first three seasons and reaching at least 1,350 rushing yards in three of his first four years (was on pace in his sophomore season but only played 10 games), Elliott’s play has failed to reach such stellar heights as of late. After averaging a career-best 108.7 yards per game in his rookie year, Elliott has averaged 65.3, 58.9 and 58.4 yards per game in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.
Despite the diminished results and the emergence of Pollard, Jones maintains that he “very much wants” Elliott to remain a Cowboy, according to Machota, stating that he believes the team can make it work financially. If that’s true, the Cowboys are likely going to need to do some financial gymnastics. Elliott is due $10.9M in base salary next year with a cap hit of $16.72M. A tag for Pollard would hit Dallas for another $10.1M.
Elliott has reportedly voiced a potential willingness to take a pay cut in order to remain with the team. A new deal for Pollard would allow the Cowboys to backload the contract and make the first few years of his deal relatively affordable for the team, as well. There are many ways to make this work moving forward, but one has to wonder if it will be worth it. A pay cut for Elliott likely doesn’t relieve the Cowboys of a financial burden. Does Elliott still provide enough benefit on the field to warrant squeezing him into the salary cap?
According to Jones, the answer to that question is “yes.” The longtime Cowboys executive wants to keep both Pollard and Elliott around moving forward. He will have to work some salary cap magic in order to do so without hamstringing his franchise financially.
