Cowboys RB Tony Pollard's rehab is "intended to have him on track to play Sunday at Washington," HC Mike McCarthy said Thursday, per The Dallas Morning News' Michael Gehlken. Pollard suffered a foot strain on his 58-yard TD in last week's win over the Saints, McCarthy revealed. He carried twice more after that score. We'll continue to keep a close eye on Pollard over the next few days.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard missed Wednesday's practice with a foot issue. “He’s fine,” a source tells The Dallas Morning News' Michael Gehlken. Dallas did sign RB Ito Smith to the practice squad on Wednesday, though, suggesting that there's at least some concern about Pollard's Week 14 availability. We'll get another update tomorrow.

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee) is not listed on the final injury report for Thursday night's game vs. the Saints. He was listed as a full participant in practice all 3 days. We're expecting Elliott to cede more work than usual to RB Tony Pollard -- like he did on Thanksgiving -- making both guys RB2s. We still prefer Zeke over Pollard if you're choosing between the 2.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed that RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee) will play against the Saints on Thursday night. He even said that he expects Zeke to carry a "serious load." We're not buying that and will be projecting Elliott to cede more work than usual to RB Tony Pollard. But Elliott will be useable for fantasy owners in Week 13.

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee) was a full participant in Monday's practice. It looks like the team has decided against holding Elliott out of Thursday night's game vs. the Saints to give his troublesome knee a rest. Zeke tallied 9 carries and 8 targets to RB Tony Pollard's 10 carries and 4 targets on Thanksgiving. We could see a similar split in New Orleans.

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy tested positive for COVID and will miss Thursday night's game vs. the Saints, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. McCarthy is 1 of 8 members of the Cowboys to test positive, Schefter adds. It's unclear how many are players. We'll keep you updated.

The Cowboys will consider giving RB Ezekiel Elliott some time off to help the bone bruise in his knee heal, ESPN's Ed Werder reports. Werder specifically mentions Zeke being held out of next Thursday night's game vs. the Saints. He adds that IR is not being considered "at this time." HC Mike McCarthy admitted earlier on Friday that he's concerned about Elliott's situation. "Zeke's running style is ferocious," McCarthy said. "He gives a pounding, and he takes some hits. We need to evaluate that, and this week we'll see what the preparation looks like for him." We'll continue to keep an eye on the situation, but Elliott owners should start preparing for him to miss Week 13. Tony Pollard will be a RB1 whenever Zeke sits.

The bone bruise to Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott's knee is expected to linger for the rest of the season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones mentioned after Thursday's loss to the Raiders that the team will need to alter the game plan to reduce Zeke's volume going forward. We saw that on Thanksgiving, with Elliott handling 9 carries and 8 targets to RB Tony Pollard's 10 carries and 4 targets. We'll keep a close eye on this split in coming weeks. But, for now, consider Elliott more of a high-end RB2 and Pollard a viable RB3 or flex play.

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Giants. He sat out Wednesday with what he described as knee “tightness” and then was limited on Thursday and Friday. Zeke is expected to play on Sunday but comes with elevated risk in Week 5 fantasy lineups. RB Tony Pollard could pick up extra volume.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (knee) practiced all week and will return for Sunday’s game against the Rams. The rookie has averaged just 3.5 carries and 1.5 targets over his last 8 games.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (knee) is inactive for tonight's game against the Bears. The rookie has averaged 2.6 carries and 2.4 targets over the past 5 weeks, so his absence is a slight boost to RB Ezekiel Elliott's projected volume.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (ankle) is listed as questionable for Thursday night's game against the Bears. He didn't practice on Tuesday or Wednesday. Pollard hasn't reached fantasy relevancy this year, but he's averaged 2.6 carries and 2.4 targets over the past 5 weeks. So his absence would be a slight boost to RB Ezekiel Elliott's stock.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after Thursday night's preseason finale that he's prepared for RB Ezekiel Elliott's holdout to last into the regular season. "I'm operating as though right now, he's going to miss regular season games," Jones said. "My entire expectation for what we're putting together as a team right now would anticipate with him holding out and not having him in training camp, that he's going to miss games. We just accept that." The Dallas Morning News' Calvin Watkins reports that the Cowboys have talked with Zeke's agent in the last few days but that "nothing of substance" occurred. Jones' comments could be a final negotiation ploy to get a deal done. But we're now just 9 days away from the season opener. We just knocked 2 games off of Elliott's projections and gave RB Tony Pollard another healthy boost up the RB rankings.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talked up RB Tony Pollard after the rookie ran for 42 yards and a score on 5 carries in Saturday's preseason game. "If he goes out there and he plays to that level he's going to be [at] for the next several weeks, he's going to be right in the middle of it early," Jones said. "That will really complement what we're doing with Zeke ... I can picture those guys [having] success at the same time out there really giving the defense some fits." Elliott was a 3-down workhorse last year, excelling both on the ground and as a pass-catcher. We doubt Pollard would see enough action behind Zeke to be a real fantasy option. But the longer Zeke's holdout lasts, the more intriguing a late-round flier Pollard becomes.

Cowboys VP Stephen Jones singled out RB Tony Pollard as a standout in training camp. "Tony Pollard has done a real nice job out there," Jones said. "He's getting a little bit of everything. He's probably one that has stuck out for me if I were going to pick one." The 4th-round rookie played behind Darrell Henderson at Memphis but averaged 6.8 yards per carry and 12.4 yards per catch on 104 grabs over the last 3 seasons. The 6'0, 210-pounder clocked a 4.41-second 40 time at the Combine and registered a 72nd percentile SPARQ score. Pollard has been getting 1st-team reps in camp -- a sign that he's set to play a real role this season. How big that role is obviously depends heavily on whether RB Ezekiel Elliott shows up. We'll continue to monitor the Zeke situation, but Pollard is certainly worth a late-round flier in upcoming fantasy drafts.

The Cowboys added RB Tony Pollard in Round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Pollard was a do-it-all weapon for the Tigers, amassing 941 rushing yards with 9 TDs, 1,292 yards and 9 scores receiving and 7 kick-return TDs over the past 3 years. The 6’0, 210-pounder helped himself by registering a 72nd percentile SPARQ score at the Combine. With only Darius Jackson behind Ezekiel Elliott on Dallas’ depth chart, Pollard will have a shot to win the #2 RB job out of camp.