Micah Parsons backs RB Tony Pollard amid questions about his future with team

Dallas Cowboys star Tony Pollard fell shy of expectations in his first season as the Cowboys No. 1 running back, but linebacker Micah Parsons insists the team should keep him.

"I would say toward the end of the season Tony Pollard was catching his rhythm again," Parsons said on a recent episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show." "I would give Tony Pollard another shot."

Pollard signed a one-year $10.09M deal last offseason. In 17 games, he rushed for 1,005 yards and six TDs on a career-high 252 carries. However, he failed to make the Pro Bowl and averaged a career-low four yards per carry.

The Cowboys could tag the 26-year-old again. Franchising a player for a second straight year requires a team to pay 120 percent of his salary from the previous season.

If Dallas doesn't do that, the former fourth-round pick becomes a free agent. His market value is a two-year deal worth $6.5M annually, eighth at his position. The Cowboys aren't in a position to spend. Spotrac estimates they're $14.98M over the cap.

Parsons added Pollard was still dealing with a fractured fibula he suffered in a 2022 divisional-round loss to the San Francisco 49ers. missing most of the offseason.

"You're talking about a guy that's really been off from that January. He came back in Week 1, but he didn't really do a lot. It takes a while to get back into football," Parsons said. "He didn't do OTAs. He didn't do mini-camp. He kind of did camp a little bit like working through it, getting back into it."

Perhaps the Cowboys should give Pollard another chance. Even though he didn't lead the league in rushing, he's still productive and could bounce back.