The free agent market for running back this offseason is sure to be active with such names as Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, D’Andre Swift and Austin Ekeler all seeking new contracts.
Among those names is Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, who is seeking his second multi-year contract after playing under the franchise tag in 2023.
According to Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News, Pollard is reportedly willing to take less money to remain with the Cowboys next year.
Pollard delivered a strong 2023 season under the franchise tag, though not nearly as strong as his 2022 season.
He rushed for two fewer yards than he had in 2022 despite receiving 59 more carries. Similarly, he racked up 60 fewer receiving yards despite catching 16 more passes on 12 more targets.
He also reached the end zone six times last year, only half as many times as he had scored in his Pro Bowl 2022 season.
Still, Pollard finished 12th in the league in rushing yards, outperforming Barkley (who missed three contests), Jacobs (who missed four contests), and Ekeler (who also missed three contests).
Henry and Swift were the only backs listed above to outperform Pollard, and Henry’s advanced age (30) could limit his value in comparison to Pollard and Swift.
The common thought in Dallas is that Pollard expects a raise after earning $10.09M on the franchise tag last year. That’s hard to envision, especially with this year’s free agent crop struggling to perform in contract years.
Projected market values at Spotrac.com show only Henry making more than $10M in 2024. Swift, the second-best performer of the above group this season is only projected to be worth $6.7M per year.
Spotrac has Pollard projected for a two-year, $13.05M deal, which lands right inside the two-year, $12M-14M deal proposed by Watkins.
Pollard may be willing to take a bit of a discount to stay in Dallas, but it sounds like it would only be a slight discount. Pollard is reportedly preparing to get as many offers as possible before talking to the Cowboys.
It sounds like he may give the league an opportunity to set his value and then give Dallas a chance to come in and slightly undercut that value if they want to keep him around. This could pose a risk if he waits long enough that the draft and other free agent moves influence how valuable he is to the Cowboys.
We’ll see just how risky of a strategy he will employ in the weeks to come.
More must-reads: