Tony Pollard is leaving the Dallas Cowboys and going to the Tennessee Titans for a three-year, $24 million contract. That’s not a bad payday for a player who’s not going to be a firm RB1… not at all.
But how? How is he leaving Dallas? Doesn’t Jerry Jones frivolously spend on running backs? Did Jones learn his lesson? Did Jones learn not to pay these guys? No way. He just got beat, right?
The Cowboys were out-spent by the Titans for Tony Pollard
In the four years Pollard was playing behind Ezekiel Elliot, he was averaging 5.3, 4.3, 5.5, and 5.2 yards per carry. Then in 2023, when he had the backfield to himself (more or less), he dropped down to a career-low 4.0 YPC. So unless you thought Pollard’s production would plummet by around 23 percent, it’s hard to argue that 2023 was anything other than a disappointment.
The obvious variable between last year and the previous years was that he didn’t have a lead back ahead of him; Pollard wasn’t just the changeup, he was the fastball as well.
Why would the Cowboys try to run it back with Pollard as their RB1? They saw his lack of production in 2023. If they wanted to keep him, it would mean they would have to pay him good money and spend resources on another running back to take the RB1 mantle. That would be crazy.
Well, my friends, they tried. They tried to get Pollard and they failed. According to The Athletic senior NFL insider Dianna Russini, Pollard "took the bigger payday with Tennessee."
One of the best things about free agency is how reporters and newsbreakers add to their stories by naming the teams that attempted to get the free agents but were ultimately outbid. That lets fans say, ‘Wow, how cool would it be if ____ were here doing that for us? We were so close to getting him,’ or, ‘Why on Earth would ____ try to get/keep him? That’s ridiculous.”
The Cowboys are the latter in this situation, but it’s worse than that. Jones owns the most valuable franchise in the NFL, and he’s very proud of that. It has to be a real bummer for him to be outbid on a player, especially when that player is walking out of his door.
Pollard is going to be sharing the Titan’s backfield with Tyjae Spears which is a tremendous upgrade for him and his potential production. Now he has a fat banking account and an ex-boss who is punching the air.
Channel your inner Steve Miller Band and cheer on Pollard: “Go on, take the money and run.”