Following Monday's deadline for NFL teams to sign franchise tag players to a multi-year extension, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard was one of the three star running backs that failed to get a deal done.

The disappointing news cycle for running backs – whose value is steadily declining as front offices aren't willing to pay them big contracts – started an outrage-filled conversation on social media, particularly on Twitter.

This conversation was led by Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, who posted a loud message for his colleagues that has gathered seven million views in less than 24 hours.

"At this point, just take the running back position out of the game then," replied Henry to a tweet from ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller suggesting the ideal plan at running back is for teams to: draft a player, play him, franchise tag him (if he's good), and then draft another one. 

At this point , just take the RB position out the game then . The ones that want to be great & work as hard as they can to give their all to an organization , just seems like it don’t even matter . I’m with every RB that’s fighting to get what they deserve . https://t.co/OgvBWZCKvn

— Derrick Henry  (@KingHenry_2) July 17, 2023

"I'm with every RB that's fighting to get what they deserve," added the two-time leading NFL rusher who remains one of the best players in the league and is entering a contract year himself.

Among the running backs fighting to get what they've earned is Pollard, who's done enough for the Cowboys for the franchise to feel comfortable cutting Ezekiel Elliott earlier this year. Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs were the other two backs looking at an extension before the deadline.

However, Henry's outrage and moral support are unlikely to change the story of Pollard and the league's declining running back market. At the core of the problem is hard, cold data proving that running backs, even the elite ones, do little in the grand scheme of things when it comes to their impact on winning ballgames. 

They're great players and there's no taking that away from them. It's just that when it comes to cash spending and salary cap management, teams are mostly better off investing in other positions. For years and years, most of the successful teams in the league have prioritized paying quarterbacks, offensive tackles, wide receivers, and pretty much every other position because they will usually have a higher impact on winning ballgames than running backs.

Again, not because of their talent or caliber of play, but rather the nature of a league that is passing the football more and more often every year. On top of that, it's a position in which players' primes usually a very short amount of time. 

It's a sad and frustrating situation to be in for running backs because there's not much they can do for the running back market to climb back up other than wait for one of two things:

1. The moment when NFL teams go too far and start regretting using non-top-caliber players at the position.
2. The moment when NFL teams go from passing the football not times enough to passing the football way too often. 

There has to be an inflection point.

For now, though, things are unlikely to change much for Tony Pollard and the other top running backs in the NFL. The Cowboys' fifth-year player will take on the 2023 season with a $10.1 million franchise tag.

Next offseason, he'll be able to negotiate with the Cowboys again. Based on what we saw this offseason, though, the front office might be in no hurry to sign him to a big-time deal.

Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports