Pollard is fantastic but we have to let him walk

[CT Dal Fan]

I'm 14 pages late to the party but here is my take:

Pollard gets tagged this offseason which is a bargain compared to market value, and Zeke takes a pay cut and stays as well. So 12 months from now we can be having this same discussion about the RB position.

 

[Runwildboys]

It's a great running back class, also the Notre Dame Tight End would be hard to pass if there when we are on the clock.

Why draft a RB when we have other needs? We need to keep Pollard and use draft picks to upgrade or replace weaknesses.

 

[Jayinem]

A team should show their loyalty and do what's best for the team, as well as for the players, themselves. It's quite cyclical, by nature.

Make it work however you need to. There's always a way to move salary around in the NFL. We shouldn't be letting a 25 year old who's been fantastic walk. Now after the 2nd contract maybe if he's no longer producing like he is, but not now.

 

[conner01]

I don't hate Zeke. I didn't hate emmitt after he lost his speed and was washed up either.

Its like throwing to a slow possession wr or te like #82 for 7-8 years too long lmao

They can't be the main ingredient. Just a Back up role

I think Zeke is still an impact player
But to me you have to sign the guys you can’t replace
If a guy is fairly replaceable then you let him walk
I think replacing what Zeke brings to the team is easier than what pollard brings
Pollard is a playmaker who can take it to the house at anytime, carrying the ball or catching it
That’s really, really hard to replace
I move on from Zeke and sign pollard

 

[fansince68]

I think Zeke is still an impact player
But to me you have to sign the guys you can’t replace
If a guy is fairly replaceable then you let him walk
I think replacing what Zeke brings to the team is easier than what pollard brings
Pollard is a playmaker who can take it to the house at anytime, carrying the ball or catching it
That’s really, really hard to replace
I move on from Zeke and sign pollard

Totally agree. But Zeke is a made man in Jerry's world.

 

[conner01]

Totally agree. But Zeke is a made man in Jerry's world.

I’m afraid you are right
I’d respectfully part company with him just like we did with Ware
But Jerry can get too attached sometimes
I think with the contracts we have coming soon he needs to think 2-3 years down the road and start preparing now. Zeke and Tyron clears money next year with Tyron and the year after with Zeke that can be banked for Lamb, parsons and Diggs
Plus we have brown a FA next year and Lewis the year after as well as Biadasz coming due soon
The cap requires hard decisions and planning a few years ahead. To me pollard is too much of a playmaker to let walk

 

[RonnieT24]

Make it work however you need to. There's always a way to move salary around in the NFL. We shouldn't be letting a 25 year old who's been fantastic walk. Now after the 2nd contract maybe if he's no longer producing like he is, but not now.

A lot of people were clamoring to let a 24 year old who had been on a hall of fame track walk three years ago. But I completely agree.. We have two good running backs and if the OC will let them they can help this team get to where it wants to go and will be in a position to do so for at least 2-3 more years. Walking away from that kind of production is just dumb unless the money is just stoopid.

 

[Mannix]

------Pollard is fantastic but we have to let him walk

Why....because we need money to resign so and so in 2025? Or because we need to squirrel away more top FA money that we will never spend?

 

[RonnieT24]

------Pollard is fantastic but we have to let him walk

Why....because we need money to resign so and so in 2025? Or because we need to squirrel away more top FA money that we will never spend?

Yeah the rush to part ways with great players over money among this fan base is mind boggling. Teams work like hell to find great players.. and no sooner do the Cowboys find one half the fan base starts planning for how to get rid of him.

 

[Jayinem]

Cowboyszone Forum: Pollard is fantastic but we have to let him walk, because the Jones' need the money

 

[Captain-Crash]

Pollard would be great in Buffalo. Allen wouldn't have to do all the running.

 

[jaythecowboy]

Smart teams don't deal out big money deals to RB's.

Agree/Disagree?

I think there is more nuance now for the Pollard situation than it was for Zeke for a couple reasons. First the rb market has stagnated a bit or even arguably regressed in the past few seasons. When Zeke signed his deal at $15 million a year the top receivers were making $20 million and now they are making $30 million. Your dollar stretches more at rb compared to what it did 5 years ago. Secondly, I don't think Pollard would get a record contract on the open market since he was only heavily featured one season. I think a Pollard contract would max out at about $10 million a season which I would be fine paying (as long as Zeke was let go or takes a pay cut).

 

[rambo2]

I think Zeke is still an impact player
But to me you have to sign the guys you can’t replace
If a guy is fairly replaceable then you let him walk
I think replacing what Zeke brings to the team is easier than what pollard brings
Pollard is a playmaker who can take it to the house at anytime, carrying the ball or catching it
That’s really, really hard to replace
I move on from Zeke and sign pollard

I haven't noticed players that pass protect as well as Zeke and have the power for short yardage and goal line. They should keep both.

 

[rambo2]

Cowboyszone Forum: Pollard is fantastic but we have to let him walk, because the Jones' need the money

Lol, they don't get to keep money on contracts. They have to follow cap rules just like all teams.

 

[rambo2]

------Pollard is fantastic but we have to let him walk

Why....because we need money to resign so and so in 2025? Or because we need to squirrel away more top FA money that we will never spend?

Lol, you don't have a clue. I'll bet you that Pollard is on the team in 2023 as long as he stays healthy the rest of this year.

 

[ConstantReboot]

We can't pay everyone. Paying Zeke has been a mistake. The question will be can we find someone in the 2nd or 3rd rounds like that Texans kid that will carry the load for much cheaper than what Pollard will get in FA?

Diggs, Parsons and CeeDee are coming up too, and we're right up against the cap as is

I would cut Zeke to make cap room for Pollard. We then can draft another back to replace Zeke.

 

[ConstantReboot]

I’m not so sure about that, because Aaron Jones had a couple of 1000 yard seasons leading up to that contract. He had two seasons of over 200 rushing attempts. Until this season Pollard never had more than 130 rushing attempts. Jones has carried more of a load than Pollard. I doubt there’s a team that’s going to be thrilled with paying Pollard 12M per when he’s splitting carries with another back. I just don’t see him being as effective if he’s carrying most of the load. If the Cowboys were to franchise Pollard they would have to pay him over 12M for one season and I’m not sure they’re going to want to do that. He’s clearly been one of our best players this season and our most explosive offensive player but let’s not forget the Cowboys moved on from DeMarco Murray after he set a franchise record and led the league in rushing in 2014. He received at least one or two MVP votes that season. The Cowboys moved on because they didn’t want to pay him. We’ll see how they handle Pollard’s situation during the offseason.

Which was a stupid move because he actually went to the Eagles for less than his asking price. Then the next year we failed to make the playoffs because of it. Then we ended up having to draft Zeke because of the previous errors they made with Murray. Letting Pollard go would be a bad mistake. We will feel the brunt of not having a big play maker in Pollard the foreseeable future if they simply let him walk.

Best that they let Zeke walk and draft a running back.

 

[ConstantReboot]

I would like to keep Pollard for sure, just don't think we can afford him. We can't just cut Zeke as people have suggested as 2023 his cap number is 16.72 million and we would still be on the hook for 11.86 million dead money against the cap.
In 2024 if we cut him the cap number is 14.32 million and we would save 8.28 million so the dead money would be only about 6 million. That is cutting pre-June 1st.

Yes we can. We can cut Zeke in 2023. His salary is no longer guaranteed and his numbers have been decreasing year after year. Now that they have Pollard to deal with, Im sure they will cut Zeke and either sign Pollard or tag him. The Cowboys would be stupid to let Pollard go. He is too valuable. But knowing how the Cowboys work. It might happen. But I really doubt Zeke will be with this team next year.

 

[Grevus]

Pollard is our gadget guy that can do a lot of things. I like Zeke and he great when we need those hard yards, but is he still worth the money? Unless he's will to take a pay cut, I think you have to let Zeke go to keep Pollard.