Tony Pollard Final Season with Cowboys? $10 Million And Free?

The Dallas Cowboys and Tony Pollard failed to reach a new deal by the Monday NFL deadline. Is the final arrangement a "punishment'' or a "prize''?

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys and Tony Pollard failed to beat the 3 p.m. Monday deadline to ink a long-term deal, so Pro Bowl running back is locked into his one-year franchise tag $10 million contract.

Is that "punishment'' in this era of "the devaluation of the running back''? Or, because of that fact, does this represent a financial "prize'' for Pollard?

An NFL source told CowboysSI.com that as of Sunday night there was “no movement” in negotiations, and while the two sides "touched base'' over the course of the offseason, we don't believe Dallas made any grand overtures toward sealing up Pollard, 26, with a huge long-term deal.

As CowboysSI.com has noted often, there has always been a real possibility that Monday would come and go without a bigger payday for Pollard. But at the same time, while some view the tag (and the salary) as a "weapon,'' Pollard's salary, it could be argued, is quite representative in an NFL where, say, Devin Singletary moves from Buffalo to Houston to make $2.6 million APY.

This is no insult and this is no punishment. The $10 million is a bonanza of sorts. … and Pollard will now be a free agent a year from now. If he's worth more than $10 million APY ... he will prove it in 2024.

So while other players like Saquon Barkley of the Giants fight off franchise tags, Pollard is still in a comfortable spot as he theoretically “bets on himself” for the future.

We've been told that the leg injury sustained in the playoffs is a non-issue and that he plans on working when Dallas reports to camp in Oxnard late this month.

So … Can Pollard sustain his Pro Bowl success this fall as he takes over full-time for the released Ezekiel Elliott? That's the idea. And the Cowboys will worry about who "takes over'' at running back in 2024 - Pollard or someone else - when that bridge is crossed.

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