With Tuesday’s deadline to place the franchise tag on players nearing, we’ll hear more about the team’s plans with the tag. We already have heard today that the Raiders plan to tag Josh Jacobs if no extension is reached before the Tuesday deadline. Now, Ian Rapoport is reporting that Dallas plans to do the same with running back Tony Pollard.
Dallas has a big decision to make at running back this offseason. Tony Pollard is a free agent this offseason. Pollard led Cowboys running backs in rushing yards (1,007) and yards per carry (5.2). He was second on the team in yards from scrimmage (1,378).
Ezekiel Elliott is under contract, but Pollard is the younger, and better option at this point. They’d like to keep both, but Spotrac estimates Pollard’s market value is $8.4 million per year. That would give Dallas two of the NFL’s highest paid running backs.
Dallas is also $17.1 million over the cap entering free agency, so they have to do some work to get under the cap before they can begin to address the running back situation.
But, according to Rapoport, Dallas doesn’t plan on letting Pollard hit free agency. This likely means that the team will move on from running back Ezekiel Elliot.
Big news out of Indianapolis this evening regarding their running back situation.