Cowboys RB Tony Pollard Being Pulled After Preseason Series Could Point to Fantasy Football Upside

Ezekiel Elliott continues to be a no-show at the Dallas Cowboys training camp, holding out for a new contract. Meanwhile, the team continues to stand firm, saying that Zeke needs the Cowboys much more than the other way around. Elliott's replacement, Tony Pollard has been taking starter reps, and his showing in the first preseason game suggests Dallas has confidence in him.

#Cowboys pulled Tony Pollard after he played just one series with the Dak Prescott group, a sign they have regular season plans for him even if Zeke reports before Week 1.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) August 11, 2019

Pollard played just a single series for Dallas, finishing with 16 yards on four attempts. While this number isn't too impressive, especially considering he faced a second-string defensive line, his brief showing hints that the Cowboys are confident in their rookie back.

Dak Prescott on Tony Pollard: "One of the most exciting players to me of this training camp."

Jerry Jones on Pollard: "If he continues to get better and better and better, I think you are going to see a guy that plays early for the Cowboys."
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 5, 2019

If the Cowboys did not have confidence in Pollard or thought they needed to see what he could do in a game to win the starting job, he would have been given a longer look in the first preseason game. Instead, he saw the one series with the starters and was kept on the sideline with them the rest of the game.

For fantasy, this shows us that Pollard is the true handcuff for Elliott to own, at least for now. In reality, this could be a message to Zeke and his agent that not only do they have options in the backfield, but they have already decided on his replacement if his holdout carries into the regular season.

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