Cowboys star says he feels even faster after recovery from injury

With Zeke Elliott out of the picture in Dallas, Tony Pollard is set to take over as the starting running back of the Cowboys this season. 

The only question is how quickly he will be back to 100 percent following his recovery from a broken leg he suffered in the playoffs.

To hear Pollard talk following Cowboys OTAs, he is not only ahead of schedule in his recovery, he might be even better than he was before his injury. 

At the very least he feels faster.

"Honestly, I feel faster," said Pollard, via the Cowboys' website. "I feel like I've got a lot of juice in me."

Pollard spent the first four years of his career as a backup to Elliott in Dallas, but has consistently been the most productive back on the team. He had a breakout performance in 2022 that saw him not only top the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career, but also earn a Pro Bowl spot. 

Overall he has rushed for 2,616 yards in his career and averaged more than five yards per carry.

The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Pollard this offseason -- which he has already signed -- and will pay him over $10 million for the 2023 season. 

The only downside from Pollard's 2022 season was the broken leg that he suffered in the team's playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Given how close that game was (San Francisco won 19-12) it is not unreasonable to wonder how that game would have turned out for the Cowboys had he been able to avoid injury. 

The Cowboys offense is going to have a very different look this season with Pollard being the feature back, Mike McCarthy taking over as the team's primary play-caller and Brandin Cooks added to the mix as a potential deep threat at wide receiver. Expectations will be extremely high.