Dallas Cowboys RB Tony Pollard might want to trademark his latest catchphrase before someone else does.
“If they call it, I’m gonna haul it,” Pollard said Wednesday from Cowboys camp, per The Athletic's Jon Machota.
Dallas’ new star back is expected to be unimpeded as the team’s lead runner, despite suffering a broken leg in last year’s playoffs. His recovery has gone well, Pollard said, and he told media that he’s ready for the heavy lifting that comes with the job.
“Whatever they throw at me, I can handle it,” Pollard said. “I’m ready to go. Whatever they throw at me, I’m gonna make the most of it and we’ll see how that goes.”
Of course, the injury isn’t the only factor to consider. Pollard never has been a bell-cow back in the NFL, at least not for a full season. The closest he’s come was down the stretch last season, when Pollard averaged nearly 18 touches per game between Weeks 7 and 15 before missing the Week 16 game with an injury.
Pollard would figure to have a lot of motivation to perform his best in the expanded role. The Cowboys franchise tagged Pollard this offseason, and he wasted no time signing his one-year tender offer of $10.091 million for the 2023 season. He’ll be a free agent once more in 2024 after Pollard and the team didn’t agree to a long-term deal by the July 17 deadline.
But in a time when running backs are banding together across the league to bemoan the lack of a robust open market for their position, Pollard said he’s “fine” with making only $10 million this season.
“At this point, it is what it is,” he said. “I signed the tag, I’m here in camp. I’m just ready to focus on the main thing and just stick to winning.”