The Green Bay Packers are ninth in run block win rate this season. But go look at rush EPA numbers, and they fall all the way down to 32nd. You can only explain that with the worst running back room in football, which the Packers have while Josh Jacobs is on the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List. The combination of MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, and Kaleb Johnson has been a disaster.

Meanwhile, on the Tennessee Titans, it’s another October of Tony Pollard sitting right in the middle of NFL trade deadline discussions. The Tennessee Titans are 0-4 for the second season in a row, and they host an 0-4 Houston Texans team in Nashville in Week 5.

So, our writers Austin Stanley (Titans) and Wendell Ferreira (Packers) discuss whether a trade could come to fruition, and how things may or may not go down.

Titans’ perspective

Austin Stanley: On paper, Pollard should draw calls. He’s a proven veteran running back with a strong track record. The famous stat still holds up, too. Pollard and Derrick Henry are the only two NFL running backs with 1,000 yards in each of the last four seasons.

So why isn’t this an easy sell for a winless team? It comes down to the quarterback, and the running backs standing behind Pollard on the depth chart.

Packers’ perspective

Wendell Ferreira: Brian Gutekunst is certainly not Ted Thompson. Since the end of training camp, the Packers have added Jonnu Smith, Kaleb Johnson, Mark Redman, Laken Tomlinson, Mekhi Becton, and Kevin Zeitler. He is willing to make moves to improve the roster right now. And with things falling apart, getting the running game back on track would be massive for the offense.

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Tony Pollard has been fine in a clunky Titans’ offense

The Titans offense under Brian Daboll has been clunky. Pollard, for the most part, has not been the problem. He does own one ugly moment. On Tennessee’s opening drive against the Ravens in Week 4, a Cam Ward pass bounced off Pollard’s hands and turned into an interception. That one was purely on Pollard.

Outside of that, he’s been pretty good. He has 220 yards through three games and one rushing touchdown. The production isn’t eye-popping. It’s fine. And fine is still the most reliable thing about this backfield.

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Why Tennessee can’t treat Pollard like a typical deadline sell

The issue is that the Titans are in a weird transitional spot at running back. Maybe they can’t afford to trade Pollard.

The entire goal of this season is to find out whether Ward is the quarterback of the future by the end of the 2026 regular season. We already saw what helps him. Ward played much better down the stretch of his rookie year when the run game worked. That’s when Pollard stacked several 100-yard rushing games and crossed 1,000 yards for the second time in two years as a Titan.

The running game created balance. Ward benefited from it. Now look behind Pollard. Tyjae Spears is in a contract year, just like Pollard. Spears is an explosive playmaker with the ball in his hands, and he’s probably the hardest player on the roster to tackle in space. He’s also a good pass protector and pass-catcher. But you can’t rely on Spears to carry every-down responsibility, especially running between the tackles.

Then there’s rookie fifth-round pick Nick Singleton from Penn State. The early looks are not super impressive. He’s been blown up in pass protection, he’s been flagged for a hold, and he was inactive for the season opener. In three games, he hasn’t been able to do much of anything.

Pollard and Spears both have expiring contracts. If the season is lost, Tennessee is shopping for running backs (plural) next offseason. The best-case version is learning Singleton can be a 1B or RB2, then finding a lead back in the draft or, more likely, free agency.

That’s the rock and the hard place. If Ward were less of a question mark, Pollard would be far more expendable. Because Ward is still a question mark, the price to pry Pollard away from this offense should go UP.

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Would the Titans eat salary to buy a better draft pick?

There’s a question about whether the Titans would be comfortable paying some of Pollard’s contract to buy a better draft pick. Yes, that could potentially happen.

Tennessee has plenty of cap space and isn’t worried about it whatsoever. Pollard’s salary and bonuses for this season total $7.25 million. It’s the final year of his deal, and I doubt the Titans bring him back after this season. He’s simply not in the age range for that kind of commitment.

So eating money to sweeten a trade is feasible. The ceiling is the catch. Even if the Titans pay most of his contract, I don’t see how they get anything higher than a fourth-round pick for Pollard.

From a football business standpoint, trading Pollard makes sense. From a football standpoint, with Ward’s future still undecided, it’s a much tougher call.

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Packers’ financial scenario and Jacobs waiting game

Green Bay has less than $10 million in cap space this year, so they have limited resources now and in future years to make a significant financial commitment to a 29-year-old running back. Philosophically speaking, Gutekunst doesn’t like to spend the combination of draft capital and money for veteran players, unless it’s a transformational piece like Micah Parsons.

But if the Titans are willing to keep most of Pollard’s salary and the clarity around Josh Jacobs’ situation doesn’t come before the trade deadline, the Packers could realistically be interested in Pollard if the team is still competing by that point.

It’s not an easy trade to pull off for multiple reasons. But the situation can be much clearer three weeks from now.