Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Tony Pollard has proven to be a potential star with the Cowboys but, if Dallas sticks with Ezekiel Elliott, where could they trade the young RB?
It certainly appears that the Dallas Cowboys are heading towards a crossroads with their running back room. Ezekiel Elliott remains under contract for quite a while and, frankly, it’s not going to be anytime soon that they can get out of that deal with the way it’s structured. But meanwhile, Tony Pollard has emerged as a dynamic, dangerous playmaker.
Considering that Pollard is younger, has less mileage on the tires, and is seemingly just better right now — although, admittedly, Elliott has unwisely been playing through injury for the past few weeks — it would make sense if the Cowboys pivoted to Pollard as the lead back.
But if Jerry Jones and the organization wants to remain committed to Elliott, then they would be almost foolish to let a player with Pollard’s talent and intrigue waste away as a backup when he could offer much more value to Dallas on the trade market.
If that were to be the direction that the team went, where could Tony Pollard land? These three teams would make sense.
Cowboys: 3 Tony Pollard trade destinations if Dallas sticks with Ezekiel Elliott
3. Atlanta Falcons
While first-year head coach Arthur Smith appears to be the only person in the NFL who has ever figured out how to finally utilize Cordarrelle Patterson, the fact of the matter is that the Falcons offense lacks a true running back.
Patterson emerged in the Atlanta offense because free-agent acquisition Mike Davis proved to be ineffective as the lead ball-carrier for this team and there aren’t any young options waiting their turn on the roster either. As such, Pollard could be a potential asset.
The only question about the Falcons adding a player like Pollard would be if Atlanta plans on starting a full-scale rebuild sometime soon, which might mean that the franchise doesn’t want to part with any draft picks in trades. But if they try to keep hanging on, then the Cowboys running back should be on their radar.