Tony Pollard News: Coach envisions even backfield split

Titans head coach Brian Callahan said Wednesday that the team intends to deploy a backfield distribution that allows Pollard and Tyjae Spears to "play a little more evenly" in 2025, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

Callahan said Pollard, who compiled a career-high 1,079 rushing yards plus five scores on 260 carries (4.2 YPC) last season, "was our most productive running back" but acknowledged that he "was battling the second half of the year quite a bit" and struggled to remain fully healthy, as did Spears. "So hopefully that division of labor gets a little more evenly distributed so [Pollard] doesn't have to take the brunt of it," Callahan said while also expressing a desire to work a third back into the mix, which could be either Julius Chestnut or rookie sixth-rounder Kalel Mullings (abdomen). Pollard said the right high-ankle sprain he dealt with late in 2024 is "ready to go" and that "getting more guys involved, keeping guys fresh" would be "ideal." A decrease in overall workload could allow the 28-year-old Pollard to better maintain his efficiency for a full 17-game slate, and even if he doesn't reprise a workhorse role, he's positioned to repeat as Tennessee's top backfield option. With Cam Ward now under center rather than Will Levis, there's also room for the Titans' offense to improve as a whole and provide enough increased scoring opportunities for Pollard's fantasy value as an RB2 to remain safely intact.