The Dallas Cowboys got some good news on Thursday.
After having surgery four months ago to repair his lower leg, head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Thursday that Pollard has participated in the reduced-tempo portions of the offseason’s organized team activities to this point.
Michael Gehlken, a Cowboys reporter for the Dallas Morning News, said Pollard had a planned exit about 20 minutes into action.
Pollard jogged through team drills, which is consistent with expectations at his stage in recovery from a leg fracture. OL Terence Steele (ACL) appears in excellent shape but took only mental reps.
This is going to be a slow process, obviously.
Pollard averaged 5.9 yards per touch last season, leading the NFL in that category with at least 200 touches in 2022.
Great news for Dallas, but with questions still lingering about whether or not Pollard will be healthy enough to be the lead back to start the year in September, we needed news, and it was good.
Thus far, it sounds like he should be, but things change.
The question then shifts to who will be Pollard’s backup? It will probably be a mix for now, but Deuce Vaughn is my favorite to come out of the pack.
Malik Davis, Rico Dowdle, and Ronald Jones are also on the roster.
Jones is a sleeper for me, and he has shown that he can carry the load for a team as the lead back.
In 2020 for Tampa Bay, he had 192 carries, 978 yards, and seven touchdowns, so he is my wild card.
With the release of Ezekiel Elliott, they might ask Jones to be the “bigger” back that helps with pass blocking and short yardage. Weight wise he is the biggest on the roster, but not by much.
We may have a better idea of who comes out of the pack as the summer goes on.
All I care about right now is that Pollard is on track or ahead of schedule.
McCarthy said the team would have a “ramp-up” outside OTAs, which should help Pollard and Terence Steele recover from injury.
The Cowboys had three OTAs this week, three next week, and a mandatory mini-camp June 6-8.
Throughout the next few weeks, my eyes will stay glued to the updates with Pollard. The team will need him this year, and I wouldn’t push it if he isn’t ready.
We saw how tough it was for Michael Gallup last season when he returned.
It becomes a mind-over-matter type of deal. You hear players talk about it all the time.
They worry that they might re-injure whatever part of the body has recovered. You see it all across sports.
This Cowboys team has a lot of potential. Even more than a year ago, they won a playoff game.
The team added Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks via trades. We will need the best version of Pollard possible, starting with a full recovery from his high ankle sprain and fractured fibula.
Pollard signed the franchise tag on March 6th, so if he can show he has no setbacks from this injury, he may get a contract from the Cowboys at the end of the 2023 season.