Over the past two seasons, Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott have provided the Dallas Cowboys with a potent 1-2 rushing duo in the backfield.
Pollard is coming off a career year in which he rushed for 1,007 yards and seven touchdowns, while Elliott rushed for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns. But the cap-strapped Cowboys have to decide if they want to keep one, both or none with free agency around the corner.
Pollard is slated to become a free agent next month, while the Cowboys can save $4.86 million in cap space by releasing Zeke. Jerry Jones would surely love to keep both if the price is right, but what about the idea of going big game hunting in 2023 free agency?
At CBS Sports, Cody Benjamin ran a 2023 “NFL free agency mock draft.” Benjamin set the draft order (1-32) from most cap space to the smallest cap space. With the Cowboys in the No. 22 spot, he has Dallas signing New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley:
“Can you imagine? Barkley is certainly worthy of an earlier pick, but at a devalued position, you can see why he’d slide. With Tony Pollard headed for free agency and Ezekiel Elliott’s future unclear, the Cowboys could give Dak Prescott an unexpected boost of skill talent by pairing him with the rejuvenated Giants star. And they’d be robbing their rivals of a freakish athlete in the process.”
Barkley is coming off a career year of his own from the Giants, in which he rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year is slated to become a free agent after completing his rookie contract.
Giants GM Joe Schoen has made it clear that he hopes to keep Barkley. If he hits free agency, would the Cowboys dare to break the bank for him while bidding farewell to Pollard and Elliott? It seems far-fetched, but anything is possible in today’s NFL.
