The downside of Tony Pollard waiting comes in the unlikely but legal event that the Cowboys decide to unplug from his tag offer.
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys absolutely adore Tony Pollard and have every intention to elevate him as the full-time running back for rb for their 2023 playoff-contending team.
Unless …
“If I’m Pollard, I sign that (tag offer) today - before it becomes an “or else” situation,” an NFL source told us on Monday.
“Or else” what? Or else, given a marketplace in which running backs simply don’t get paid $10.1 million (Pollard’s present contract offer via the tag) … a guy might be wise to get it before it is rescinded by the team.
And guess what? Pollard - just now on Thursday morning - finally signed the thing.
Two key points: One, our source is not a Cowboys employee, as much as we value his view. And two, the Cowboys haven’t even whispered about pulling the rug out from under the first-time Pro Bowler.
But the fact is, free agent running backs are suddenly getting paid almost as if they’re punters. Guys are signing for $1 million (Ronald Jones in Dallas) or $2.5 million (Devin Singletary in Houston) or if they’re lucky, $6 million (David Montgomery in Detroit.)
Those days of Ezekiel Elliott making $15 million APY? Long gone, as is Zeke from the Cowboys, as Dallas’ cut of him leaves him searching for a gig.
Look at the backs who are free: Kareem Hunt, Leonard Fournette, Mark Ingram, Jerick McKinnon, Kenyan Drake …
Our source isn’t trying to compare Pollard unfavorable to any of them. But is he worth five times the going rate?
Oh, and what if somehow Dallas uses a premium NFL Draft pick on a running back? How valuable is Pollard if Texas’ Bijan Robinson or Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs is wearing silver and blue?
There is no downside to Pollard signing, as his one-year deal then becomes fully guaranteed … and long-term negotiations can continue to a mid-June deadline.
But the downside of Pollard waiting comes in the unlikely but legal event that the Cowboys decide to unplug from Pollard … leaving him to seek a big contract elsewhere - in an environment in which that simply does not exist.
And suddenly, smartly, Pollard solves that worry.
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