Tennessee Titans leading rusher Tony Pollard missed practice on Thursday and barely participated on Friday. What does that mean for his status for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts?
What Happened to Tony Pollard?
Pollard re-aggravated his ankle injury in the Titans’ Week 15 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. Normally, when a player misses practice on both Wednesday and Thursday, it is a cause for concern among personnel, as well as fans.
However, Pollard has been managing his workload by missing these practices throughout the season, and as long as he practiced on Friday, it meant he would play. The leader for the Titans in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns did show face at practice on Friday, but only for team stretch.
Luckily, late Saturday night, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Pollard would in fact be active and play for the Titans on Sunday.
Titans RB Tony Pollard, listed as questionable for Sunday due to an ankle injury, is expected to play vs. the Colts, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 22, 2024
His extremely limited participation in practice did not inspire much confidence that he would play this weekend, so the revelation was a plus for fans and fantasy managers alike.
Sitting at 3-11 on the season, the Titans have little reason to rush Pollard back from his injury, but with the Colts’ playoff hopes still alive, Pollard’s availability could be really important and determine whether they live to see another week.
Tony Pollard’s Impact on the Titans Offense
Pollard is a massive part of the Titans’ offense, accounting for 63.5% of the team’s total rushing yards on 62.8% of the team’s total carries.
Pollard is sixth in the league in carries (230) and eighth in rushing yards (982). It is clear that he was the lone bright spot on an otherwise miserable season for the Titans, and he would be missed dearly on that side of the ball.
Tyjae Spears was a threat in the receiving game last time out, with six receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. He was a non-factor in the rushing game, though. But by the time Spears was in the game more, the Titans were trailing and in obvious passing situations.
Chestnut is an intersting back, as he has the highest yards-per-carry on the team (4.4), albeit on a very small sample size. The Titans’ passing game has been a problem whether Pollard is there or not, but having a bell-cow back makes the play-calling a little bit easier for Tennessee.
The Titans have lost four of their last five, including three in a row, and will look for a spark from their backfield, whether it is Pollard or one of his backups.
Pollard’s Fantasy Outlook
– Fantasy analysis provided by PFN’s Kyle Soppe
Tony Pollard came into Week 15’s game with the Bengals battling an ankle injury, but Tennessee called his number in a significant way early on (five carries and a touchdown on their first six plays from scrimmage).
That’s the good. The bad was the rest of the game. He finished with 17 carries for just 45 yards and is now producing 20% under expectations over his past three games. Combine his underwhelming performances (yet to be a top-20 RB in consecutive games this season) with a mini-Tyjae Spears breakout (10 touches and two scores last week) and we could be looking at a running back that sees his production fall off a cliff at the worst time possible.
Pollard has lost two fumbles over the past three games; volume has been his calling card this season, something that is very much at risk.
