We are in the final week of the 2022 fantasy football season, and injury reports are more important than ever. Tony Pollard is dealing with a thigh injury and is questionable for Thursday night’s game against the Tennessee Titans. What is the latest on Pollard’s status? Will he play on Thursday night?
Update: Pollard will be inactive on Thursday night, per Tom Pelissero.
Is Tony Pollard Playing Tonight?
I watch every Dallas Cowboys game in its entirety every week, and I didn’t see any play where Pollard looked like he was injured in Week 16. However, something clearly happened. as Pollard missed practice the entire week with a thigh issue.
We don’t have much information on what exactly happened. Triple DNPs typically leads to an “out” designation. Fortunately, the Cowboys listed Pollard as “questionable,” which at least gives him a chance to suit up on Thursday night.
According to NFL Network’s Jane Slater, Pollard will travel with the team and warm up pregame, but whether he plays is still to be determined.
For fantasy managers, this game being on Thursday will afford them the ability to simply bench Pollard if he’s inactive and figure out a replacement later in the week.
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The NFL really needs to do away with Week 14 bye weeks so we can go back to having the fantasy championship in Week 16. We are firmly entrenched in matchups to determine champions, and a whole slew of players aren’t playing this week, whether due to injury or rest.
The Cowboys still have something to play for. With Jalen Hurts likely out until the playoffs, the Philadelphia Eagles still need to win another game to secure the NFC East and the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. If they lose their final two games and the Cowboys win their final two games, the Cowboys will take it all for themselves.
So, the Cowboys have every reason to play their best players if those players are healthy enough to play. The problem is that despite this game being extremely important for the Cowboys, it’s meaningless for the Tennessee Titans.
The Cowboys’ opponent has a Week 18 date with the Jacksonville Jaguars to determine the AFC South crown. Whether Tennessee wins or loses this week has no impact on that fact. As a result, the Titans are holding out some starters, most notably Derrick Henry.
The Titans are heading into this game with rookie QB Malik Willis and a bunch of backups. NFL coaches know that anything can happen, so by no means will the Cowboys show up expecting to win before the game begins. At the same time, they have to feel reasonably confident they can win without pushing Pollard to play through his thigh issue.
What Can We Expect from Pollard on Thursday Night Football?
I wouldn’t expect to see Pollard out there against the Titans. If he does end up sitting on the short week, expect old-school-level volume for Ezekiel Elliott. Malik Davis would take over as the RB2, but he would likely only see the field when Zeke is tired. Davis wouldn’t be a recommended replacement for Pollard in fantasy.
The Titans have an elite run defense, but with the Cowboys such heavy favorites and the Titans not exactly putting forth a full effort, Elliott is an absolute must-start, given his touchdown upside, regardless of whether Pollard plays.
With that said, I think I might want to take Elliott’s rushing yards lower on Underdog Fantasy, especially if we get an inflated projection based on Pollard’s absence.
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In the unlikely event Pollard does play, I would tread very carefully. This could be a situation where Pollard is “fake” active, a phenomenon that has doomed fantasy managers in the past. The most recent example of this was Tee Higgins in Week 14.
Given the likely game script, even if Pollard does open the game in his usual role, the Cowboys could opt to rest him if they get a comfortable lead.
Pay close attention to what beat reporters are saying before the game and during pregame warmups. Hopefully, that will give us some clarity on what Pollard’s role will look like if he is indeed active.