Don’t deal; the Dallas Stars signed a key player in contrast to…
In terms of contracts through 2024, the only Cowboys running backs under contract are Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis, Snoop Conner, and fullback Hunter Lupke. Last year, Vaughn and Luepke combined for 59 yards of rushes. Since the August preseason, Conner and Davis have not touched a football in a game.
The group might not seem like much to most people. From the perspective of the Cowboys, it’s stunning.
They are almost finished with their financial reset at the position.
Any investigation into why the Cowboys, despite making it to the playoffs the previous three seasons, were unable to win the Super Bowl can and ought to cover a number of grounds. The franchise’s poor return on aggressive investments at the running back position, the consequences of which have crippled the team, is one that should not be overlooked.
The Cowboys paid for production from their front-line backfield even though their running backs only managed an average of 3.3 yards per carry in three playoff defeats, including 3.9 against the Green Bay Packers on January 14.
Dallas is still recovering from the devastation caused by Ezekiel Elliott’s six-year, $90 million contract in 2019. Elliott was released by the team in March of last year with a post-June 1 designation, which allowed them to push dead money into the future while also freeing up additional salary cap space for 2023.
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Elliott, at $6.04 million, is more likely than any other running back to count against the Cowboys’ 2024 cap while he is not on the team. With that last weight off its shoulders, the franchise is now financially independent.
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Every running back with a contract contributes less than $1 million to the cap on salaries. Their salaries are not guaranteed, even though they are the league minimum. The team might be spared a small cap penalty if any of the four are unable to make the 53-man roster out of training.
This clearing calls for a more economical approach to the position, predicated on the selection of a minimum of one running back in the draft in April. The Cowboys are no longer paying quarterbacks and running back positions top dollar at the same time. A new era has begun.
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For the previous three seasons, a Cowboys player had more than 1,000 rushing yards.
The elusive milestone came at a high cost.
Elliott needed to complete the 17th game’s third quarter in 2021 in order to accumulate 1,002 yards. That season, he made $9.6 million, the fourth-highest amount of any running back in the NFL. He counted $18.2 million against the team’s salary cap in 2022, which is $6.3 million more than running back Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings did in the same year. Elliott completed 642 yards of rushing. That year, Tony Pollard amassed 1,007 yards while playing on a cheap rookie contract.
With $10.09 million counted against the Cowboys’ salary cap under the franchise tag in 2023, Pollard was no longer cheap. Elliott, who was freed, had $5.82 million. With a $15.9 million cap hit each, Pollard and Elliott are the only running backs who took up more cap space than Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans, who made $16.37 million.
It took Pollard until the 17th game’s third quarter to surpass 1,000 yards as well. His final score was 1,005. Pollard often provided a boost to the offense in pass protection, but his legs lacked the usual vigor, either because of his incapacity to sustain his explosiveness in the face of a heavier workload or because he is still getting back into shape after fracturing his leg in January 2023, as he has stated in public.
Next Gen Stats data indicates that on four of his 307 touches, or 1.3%, last season, Pollard reached a speed of over 19 mph. In 2022, he completed 10 of his 232 touches, which is more than three times as frequently as he did in 4.3%.
He said he was having “kind of an up-and-down season, kind of rocky” on January 4. After averaging 5.1 yards per carry in his first four seasons, he now only averages 4.0 yards.
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That was a respectable year for Pollard. “I have higher expectations for myself. I make an effort to be my own harshest judge and critic before anyone else. I’m harsh on myself all the time.
Soon, the Cowboys will have to choose between re-signing Rico Dowdle and Pollard. March 13 is when both are supposed to become free agents. It’s obvious that this is a new day for the running back position, one in which high-priced contracts are saved, at least for the next few years, for other positions on the roster. Dallas might be open to a reunion at the right price.
