Pollard out with ankle injury

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard injured his left ankle in the 2nd quarter of Sunday's Divisional Round game vs. the 49ers and will not return. He was carted back to the locker room with an air cast on that left ankle. The FOX broadcast reports that Pollard has a high-ankle sprain. We'll see if he avoided a fracture. Regardless, he's unlikely to be available if Dallas advances to the NFC Championship.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard supplied an update on his health. Recall that he sustained a fractured fibula in January. “I’m a little bit ahead of schedule,” Pollard said on Thursday. “I’m not really limited at this point, it’s just being smart with it.” In other words, the 26-year-old is on track for full clearance come training camp. A top-8 fantasy season looks attainable if Pollard’s health cooperates.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard (leg) is on the field for OTAs this week. HC Mike McCarthy called these "reduced-tempo" workouts, but the fact that Pollard is doing anything after his January fibula fracture is encouraging. We'll continue to track his progress, but he should be ready to rock come Week 1.

Jon Machota of The Athletic gave an update on the health of Cowboys RB Tony Pollard. “From everything I’ve heard, I think Pollard will be fully healthy by the start of the season,” Machota said. “They might ease him in during training camp.” Pollard suffered a left fibula fracture on January 22, but Dallas showed some confidence in the 26-year-old by applying the franchise tag in March. Pollard is routinely drafted as a top-8 fantasy RB.

As expected, the Cowboys are applying the franchise tag to RB Tony Pollard. That will cost the team $10.1 million on a one-year deal, if the two sides can't agree to a longer-term contract before the July 15 deadline. Pollard's anxiously anticipated breakout this past season made Dallas' move inevitable. There is still some question about whether the team also keeps RB Ezekiel Elliott around. Cowboys leadership has spoken as though that's the plan. And HC Mike McCarthy intimated in February that he split with former OC Kellen Moore because McCarthy wants a more run-leaning offense. The ankle injury that knocked Pollard out of the playoff loss to San Francisco isn't expected to affect his 2023 availability or contract negotiations with the Cowboys. You'll have to pay up if you want to draft him, though. Pollard's already going 13th among RBs in best ball ADP.

Pro Football Network's Tony Pauline hears that the Cowboys are looking to keep both RB Ezekiel Elliott and RB Tony Pollard on the team for 2023. The plan is to get Elliott to agree to a pay cut from the $16.7 million he's currently scheduled to make this upcoming season and then use the franchise tag on Pollard, which would pay him a little over $10 million in 2023. Elliott and Pollard split backfield work basically down the middle this past year, with Zeke averaging 15.4 carries and 1.5 targets per game to Pollard's 12.1 carries and 3.4 targets. Both guys' fantasy ceilings would be capped if they remain together in Dallas.