There will be no holdout in Dallas.
Cowboys running back Tony Pollard is expected to play on the $10.1 million franchise tag he signed in March, but the two sides are no closer to an extension, per Jane Slater of NFL Network.
“When I asked how far apart both sides were….a source tells me there wasn’t an extensive discussion about a long-term deal,” Slater said.
Pollard’s decision to commit to this season with the Cowboys comes after the NFL’s 4 p.m. Monday deadline for extensions with players who received the franchise tag.
The deal’s structure is identical to the Giants’ Saquon Barkley, who has not yet signed his $10.1 million franchise tag and could hold out for the 2023 season after extension talks with the Giants faltered.
Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s leading rusher last season, did not come to a contract agreement with the Raiders and has yet to sign his franchise tag.
“This is also a sign of the running back market in general unfortunately,” Slater wrote of Pollard. “It’s not as robust as it once was for guys like Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook.”
Pollard, 26, has emerged as the Cowboys’ lead running back after a season in which he rushed for a team-high 1,007 yards and Dallas subsequently decided to cut longtime back Elliott in March.
Pollard fractured his left fibula during last season’s playoff loss to the 49ers, and it required offseason surgery that will put him on pace to return by training camp.
The speedy running back has appeared in at least 15 games throughout every season of his four-year career and posted a career-high in total touchdowns last season with nine on the ground and three through the air.
As Slater indicated, many NFL teams have shifted away from offering running backs long-term deals in recent years, opting instead for cheaper contracts for lesser-known backs who can come close to replicating the production of stars.
Gurley, who signed a four-year, $57.5 million contract with the Rams in 2018, is retired.
Elliott, who in 2019 agreed to a six-year, $90 million deal with the Cowboys, has not generated significant interest around the league following his release from Dallas.
Cook, who signed a $63 million deal with the Vikings in 2020, was released in early June, and has become a potential target for the Jets and Dolphins.
The Cowboys finished 12-5 last season and lost in the Divisional Round.