Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard cannot be traded. I was asked whether I’m doubling down on that take from last week, before the Jeffery Simmons trade. If I could triple down or quadruple down on it, I would.

Trading Pollard would send a bigger signal about Cam Ward than the Titans did when they traded Jeffery Simmons last week. Yes, even after the Titans dropped to 1-7 in an overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of the bye week.

That might sound backward at first. Simmons is leaps and bounds more valuable on the trade market than anybody else on this roster. Package Pollard, Jacob Martin, Calvin Ridley, and Cedric Gray together and those four players alone would not get you a first-round pick. Simmons brought back two first-round picks and then some.

So the Simmons deal was about maximizing value and building for the future. A Pollard trade would be about something else entirely.

If you think Tennessee should trade Pollard, you’re either out on Cam Ward or you don’t understand how important Pollard is to this entire offense. That offense is going to tell you whether Ward is the quarterback next year.

Tony Pollard’s final 9 games are part of the Cam Ward evaluation

Pollard is critical to this organization over the next nine games. You keep him even if you plan to let him walk when his contract runs out.

The reason is simple. Pollard is a big part of the biggest decision this franchise faces once the season ends.

The Titans have to enter the second week of January knowing whether they’re keeping Cam or moving on from Cam. If they move on, they also need to know which fork in the road comes next. Do they bring in a veteran quarterback? Do they draft a quarterback with a top pick?

Take Pollard out of the backfield and every one of those questions gets harder to answer. You’d be evaluating your young quarterback with one of his most important offensive pieces removed, and then trying to sort out which problems belonged to Ward and which belonged to the roster around him.

In the last two games, Ward has looked his best when it comes to being in command of the Titans offense. 

Against Cincinnati, Ward threw his first 300 yard game, threw two fourth quarter TDs, ran for a two-point-conversion, threw for another, however the Titans lost in overtime failing to make the ultimate game-winning play. The previous week in a last second loss to the Cleveland Browns, Ward showed similar command even if the counting stats weren’t attractive. 

Those two Ward performances came with Pollard combining for 292 yards of total offense and five touchdowns, including TD runs of 36 and 41 yards. 

I think we get way too hung up on the “he’s not going to be here next year” conversation. That doesn’t matter for this team. Who cares if Pollard isn’t on the roster in 2027? Nobody is more important to Cam Ward right now than Pollard.

What has a Titans third-round pick done lately?

Some folks would happily take a third-round pick for Pollard. I wouldn’t. I also think that’s an inflated trade price, and the A to Z Sports Trade Simulator agrees (which by the way was spot on for the Simmons trade price). 

What’s more valuable to Tennessee: a clear answer on your quarterback future or a third-round pick? It isn’t close. Knowing who your quarterback is beats everything else on the board.

The counter is that a third-rounder is ammunition. Sure. But you need to know what you’re gathering that ammunition for, and Pollard helps you figure that out.

Also, name the Titans’ recent third-round picks. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

They didn’t have one in this past draft. Before that, it was Kevin Winston Jr. Then Tyjae Spears. Then, oh, how about these from 2022… Nicholas Petit-Frere and Malik Willis. Great stuff.

Nate Davis was a pretty good third-round pick once upon a time, back in 2019. Kevin Byard was a home run pick. That was in 2016. That was 10 YEARS ago.

A third-round pick is not the reason this franchise wins or loses its next five years. The quarterback is.

Re-sign him or let him walk, just don’t trade him

If the Titans want to bring Pollard back on another contract, go for it. I’m open to an extension, and I don’t think it would cost much.

Even if he lands the same average annual value he got on his first deal, $8 million per year, do it. Tennessee has plenty of cap space. Would it be so terrible if they hang on to a good enough running back for one more year? The Titans don’t have anybody else in that running back room worth a damn anyway.

They need to go get a veteran running back in the offseason regardless. They’d probably draft one or two as well.

I’m also fine if the Titans simply let Pollard walk at age 29, heading into his 30-year-old season. That’s a perfectly reasonable business decision once the year is over.

Pollard’s value to Tennessee over these nine games is about clarity at the most important position in the sport, and no third-round pick is going to give you that.

The Titans already have more draft picks. What they still need is an answer at quarterback. Keep the running back who gives them the best chance to find it.