5 Dallas Cowboys who won’t be back in 2024 after playoff embarrassment

1. Tony Pollard, RB

The 2023 season was supposed to be a passing of the torch at the vaunted Cowboys running back position. With the tough decision made to move on from Ezekiel Elliott and after locking up his backup, Tony Pollard, on the franchise tag, every fan was hoping that Pollard would be a bonafide superstar in a graduated role from what he'd played as a change of pace from Elliott.

Whether it was lingering effects from a broken leg suffered in the playoffs a year ago or just simply being unable to produce at the level he did previously when being given a larger workload, Pollard simply didn't deliver on any of the hopes that fans and the organization had for him. In fact, he was often more of a hindrance to the Cowboys than an asset.

It's worth noting that Pollard did show some flashes later in the season. But now that he's scheduled to hit free agency once again, a tough decision awaits Dallas. Do they try to work out a cheap long-term deal with the former third-round pick, or do they move on and give the keys of the backfield to Rico Dowdle. (a restricted free agent this offseason), Deuce Vaughn, and potentially a draft pick?

My bet would 100% be on the latter. Pollard, based on earlier in his career, is likely going to command more money on the open market than the Cowboys should be willing to offer. More importantly, Dallas also has a number of other big deals for the likes of Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott and others that they need to work out. They can't make the same mistakes of committing too much financially to a running back, which means they'll let Pollard walk this offseason.