Status Quo Backfield Is Cowboys' Best Bet in 2023, But Only If the Money Is Right

The Dallas Cowboys enter every season with the same Texas-sized expectations. Winning the Super Bowl is the only satisfactory outcome. And as has been the case in every season since 1995, the Cowboys came up short of that goal in 2022, falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.

The fanbase in Dallas has taken this most recent playoff setback about as well as they usually do, which is to say that the pitchforks and torches are out. One of the more prominent targets of their ire is running back Ezekiel Elliott, whose biggest contribution Sunday was going down as the worst center in postseason history.

Elliott isn't the player he once was. His contract has become one of Jerry Jones' bigger boondoggles in recent memory. Given that, there has been no shortage of speculation that Elliott's days in Dallas are over—that the team should prioritize re-signing Tony Pollard and/or add a rookie early in the 2023 draft while showing Elliott the door.

But there lurks an easier solution for the Cowboys—one that lies in not fixing that which is not broken. There are a number of potential directions Dallas could go in the backfield this offseason, but the best may well be the status quo.

Provided that it can be maintained without breaking the bank.

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Elliott's 8,262 career rushing yards rank third in Cowboys history behind Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett, but he had a forgettable 2022 campaign. During the regular season, he carried the ball 231 times for 876 yards, both of which were career lows. For the first time in his seven-year career, Elliott failed to gain 1,000 total yards.

That isn't much of a return on investment for a player with an average annual salary of $15 million. With the guarantees on Elliott's bloated contract now paid out, the Cowboys could save $10.9 million against the cap by designating him as a post-June 1 cut.

While Elliott was enduring the worst season of his career, Pollard was having his best. The four-year veteran topped 1,000 yards on the ground for the first time, averaged a robust 5.2 yards per carry and scored 12 total touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl nod.

However, Pollard's future became clouded when he suffered a broken fibula and high-ankle sprain against the 49ers. Per ESPN's Todd Archer, Pollard had successful surgery on the injured ankle and should be ready for training camp.

Entering free agency coming off a major injury is far from ideal, but the Cowboys are interested in retaining Pollard, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. They might be willing to use the franchise tag on him, which would cost around $10 million.

However, the Cowboys have only one franchise tag, and they have several other key contributors set to his free agency. That includes safety Donovan Wilson, tight end Dalton Schultz, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and tackle Terence Steele.

There has also been speculation that the Cowboys could look to add some punch in the backfield early in the 2023 draft. In his latest mock draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. had the Cowboys taking Texas tailback Bijan Robinson with the 26th overall pick:

"This just makes sense, right? Team owner Jerry Jones loves star running backs, going back to his days of drafting Emmitt Smith in Round 1 in 1990, and he repeatedly has said Ezekiel Elliott is the Cowboys' most important player. Well, Elliott could be a salary-cap casualty this offseason, and Tony Pollard—who made the Pro Bowl this season—broke his left leg in the divisional round and is a free agent. Could Jones and the Cowboys start over and take Robinson, the best back in this class, here? Robinson also is a great pass-catcher, so he's more than just a between-the-tackles runner. He could also take some of the pressure off quarterback Dak Prescott."

Robinson's talent is undeniable. He's the No. 4 overall player on Bleacher Report's most recent big board. But the Cowboys have needs along the offensive line, the defensive line, at wide receiver behind CeeDee Lamb and in the secondary.

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Blowing up the NFL's ninth-best run game would fix a problem that the Cowboys don't have while creating new ones elsewhere on the roster.

The Cowboys could also move on from Elliott, bring back Pollard (either on the franchise tag or a new contract) and pair him with a rookie, whether it's Robinson or a Day 2 back like Zach Evans of Ole Miss or UCLA's Zach Charbonnet. But as great as Pollard was this past year, he has never carried the ball 200 times in a season. And again, that means spending draft capital on a position that was a strength last year.

Dallas could also explore free agency to find complementary back to pair with Pollard. But the higher-end options like Cleveland's Kareem Hunt might be prohibitively expensive, and bargain-bin options like Seattle's Rashaad Penny carry considerable question marks.

For his part, Elliott told reporters after the loss to San Francisco that he would like to stay with the only NFL team he has ever known.

"I want to be here," Elliott said. "I don't have a crystal ball; I can't tell you the future. But I definitely want to be here."

Per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, Elliott is willing to put his money where his mouth is by accepting a reduced salary if that will keep him on the team.

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Therein lies the solution to the problem Dallas doesn't really have.

"We play our best offense when [Elliott and Pollard] are rolling and touching the ball," head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters in December.

Elliott might no longer be the back who topped 1,300 rushing yards in three of his first four NFL seasons, but he remains a capable between-the-tackles grinder. He's one the better pass-blocking running backs in the league and has missed more than two games only once in his seven years.

If Elliott isn't willing to take a sizable pay cut, the Cowboys should show him the door. Frankly, they should be willing to do the same with Pollard if he bristles at the franchise tag. Getting out from under Elliott's contract just to overpay another running back would be one step forward and two steps back. If it becomes an either/or proposition, Pollard appears to have a much brighter future than Elliott.

But as the old saying goes, sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. If Elliott is willing to slash his salary, Dallas' best bet may well be to roll out the backfield that had plenty of success this past season again in 2023.

It might not be what the riled-up fanbase wants to hear, but the status quo is the way to go for the Cowboys backfield, provided that the money makes sense.