The Cowboys made a notable but expected move last offseason by cutting Ezekiel Elliott. The move brought an end to the former rushing champion’s time in Dallas, and it allowed a new group of backs to operate in his place. 
The position was led in 2023 by Tony Pollard, who flashed potential as a lead back during his time splitting reps with Elliott. Playing on the franchise tag, Pollard entered the season with considerable expectations, but his production was relatively underwhelming. The former fourth-rounder again reached 1,000 rushing yards, but he did so while averaging 1.2 fewer yards per carry than he did in 2022.
As a result, Pollard’s performance would make a second tag (valued at $12.1MM) a non-starter for the Cowboys. Indeed, the 26-year-old will be allowed to reach the open market next month, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports. The same is also true of backup Rico Dowdle, who has been with the team since 2020.
Dowdle’s role has been a minor one for much of his tenure, but earned the No. 2 spot during training camp last summer. Having seen only seven regular season carries before this season, the former UDFA received 89 in 2023. Dowdle produced 361 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, adding 144 yards and another pair of scores in the passing game. The 25-year-old could search out a more prominent role in free agency, although the list of high-profile veterans at the position will no doubt hinder the market for all involved.
If Pollard and Dowdle both depart, running back will be a position to watch closely in Dallas. The team’s third-leading rusher amongst running backs last season was rookie Deuce Vaughn, who saw just 23 carries. Even an uptick in usage for 2024 and beyond would need to be accompanied by an addition at the top of the depth chart. Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry and Austin Ekeler are among the backs set to reach free agency next month, so Dallas will have a number of options to choose from. Of course, new deals for Pollard and/or Dowdle should not be ruled out if they can be retained on cost-effective deals.
The same RB’s mad last offseason will all be FA’s this season with a new crop of rookies coming. The vets are going to be screaming about contracts and pay.
Momma don’t let your babies grow-up to be runningbacks …
RBs are about as valuable as a backup punter anymore it seems. Why spend $12 million when you can draft a decent round in the 3rd or 4th round
Yeah, the additional games and change in rules to boost passing really made the bellcow back a relic of the past. That said, running the ball is still just as valuable as a phase of the offense-the difference is, now you need at least two backs to do it. Pollard could work well as one of the two, but the money that the lead backs may have gotten in the past now must be split amongst a platoon.
The market will be interesting to watch. For some reason I can see Pollard in a Chiefs jersey. He could compliment Pacheco in the block and catching game and do third down runs
Pollard didn’t look like anything special this year, thus the Cowboys are making a wise choice in seeking to improve at this position.
To be honest, I think that I was one of the few who didn’t quite see Pollard as a lead back. He was good, and certainly a 1A to me, but it just always seemed as if he would work better in a tandem with a bigger, inside runner. He’s going to be a great pickup for a team who wants him. With the free agents coming available this year, some team could potentially put together an effective short term veteran backfield pretty easily; could you imagine a Derek Henry-Tony Pollard tandem, assuming both are healthy? Lots of risk with a veteran back, but you could get a temporary boost in free agency this offseason. A team with good run blocking (like, say, Dallas) could employ such a pair pretty productively.