The deadline to sign players placed under the franchise tag is nearly here. Teams that placed the franchise tag on one of their players have until 4 PM EST today to sign said player to a long-term deal. If both sides cannot agree to a deal, then the tagged player can choose to play under the tag or hold out for the season. One NFL team that is facing this conundrum are the Dallas Cowboys, who tagged RB Tony Pollard this offseason.

With the deadline fast approaching, there have been numerous reports that the Cowboys still have not agreed to a deal with Tony Pollard. That rumor seems to be substantiated by this most recent scoop on the discussions. There is apparently “no movement” in negotiations, per Mike Fisher's sources of Sports Illustrated.

“The Dallas Cowboys have until 3 p.m. Monday to ink a long-term deal with Tony Pollard, but despite the Jerry Jones catchphrase, “Deadlines Make Deals,” an NFL source tells CowboysSI.com that as of Sunday night there is “no movement” in negotiations.”

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Pollard is currently nursing a leg injury he suffered during the 2022 season. Unlike the other remaining franchise tagged players, though, the Cowboys RB is seemingly planning to play out his tag year. It makes total sense: Pollard will return this season (as Fisher's report notes too), but having that guaranteed money as a relatively new player is a good thing.

The same cannot be said for the other franchise tagged players in the NFL. Unlike the Cowboys, the Raiders and the Giants have some big decisions to make with their star running backs. Both Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley have indicated that it's possible that they hold out if they are not given a new contract. The Cowboys are lucky in that they tagged a player who has every incentive to play next season.