Cowboys legend argues team should keep both Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard

Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith has argued the Dallas Cowboys should hold onto running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard this offseason. 

"I may franchise-tag Pollard and I may go for a contract restructure with Zeke," Smith told Pro Football Talk. "But I’m keeping both, and the reason why is because we’ve got to get Pollard back healthy, and we need Zeke, and we need (ball-carrier Malik Davis), as well. We need that three-headed monster right now to rotate. Malik gives us a chance to get Pollard time to get back healthy again." 

Per ESPN stats, Pollard finished the regular season 16th among all players with 1,007 rushing yards and seventh with an average of 5.2 yards per carry. The 25-year-old also contributed nine rushing touchdowns and three receiving scores. 

Pollard is set to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens in March and underwent surgery to repair ligaments in his ankle last month. The franchise tag for Pollard would cost $10.09 million. 

To compare, Elliott, 27, accumulated 876 rushing yards with an average of 3.8 yards per attempt and 12 scores on the ground. His contract is set to count $16.72 million against the salary cap for 2023 and has no guaranteed money remaining, but Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reported in January that Elliott "is willing to accept a pay cut this offseason" to stay with the organization. 

Money isn't the only reason the Cowboys may elect against keeping both Elliott and Pollard. Dallas went 12-5 across each of the past two regular seasons but notched only a single playoff victory over that time. Some have suggested the Cowboys need to shop for a top-tier wide receiver such as DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals rather than attach millions upon millions of dollars to the running back position. 

Smith's comments aren't all that shocking considering he argued ahead of Super Bowl LVII that "a marketing ploy" has reduced the value of running backs in the modern NFL. His heart may have been in the right place regarding his comments, but Dallas could ultimately determine that the math doesn't work as it pertains to running it back with Pollard and Elliott.