NASHVILLE – Coming into the 2024 season, the Tennessee Titans made it very clear that the plan on offense was to have Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears split carries in the backfield.

Part of the reason Tennessee let Derrick Henry walk in free agency was to have a dynamic running back duo that complimented each other well and were "interchangeable" on offense. 

Pollard is an established veteran that came to the Titans off of back-to-back seasons with 1,000+ rushing yards with the Dallas Cowboys. Spears is a second-year player drafted in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

But the split carry approach was very quickly abandoned by Tennessee. Pollard has been given the lion's share of carries this season with 213, which far outweighs the 50 rushes from Spears. While Spears missed four games due to injury, there's still a clear imbalance when both backs are healthy.

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Split Carries

With the draft capital invested into Spears by Ran Carthon, it's odd to see the Titans be so willing to take his touches away. Head coach Brian Callahan helped shed some light on why that has been the case during his media availability on Friday.

"It's two factors. It's Tony [Pollard] has played fantastic. It's hard to argue that he doesn't deserve to be the featured back in terms of the number of carries. He's been awesome. And the Tyjae's injuries," said Callahan. "I didn't know whether or not Tony was up for that type of load to be honest, and he's shown that he is, but it has been out of necessity."

Callahan continued to say that he would still like to have Spears involved in the offense moving forward. It's ideal for the Titans to have the pair of running backs playing together. But Pollard has undoubtedly earned his role as RB1.

"He's as tough as they come. He runs like a big man. He runs hard and runs through contact. He has proven to be a whole lot more than even I thought how productive he could be," said Callahan.

Pollard is 63 rushing yards away from surpassing 1,000 for the third consecutive year. He is 70 yard away from setting a new career best. 

Pollard is under contract with the Titans through 2026. I'll find it interesting to see how Tennessee approaches the running back position moving forward and if Spears can get back into the mix more consistently when he's fully healthy in 2025. 

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