Tony Pollard may have put the Tennessee Titans in a position where the front office has to at least listen.
In the Titans’ 27-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 7, Pollard delivered his best performance of the season just as the NFL trade deadline starts to creep into view. Tennessee came in riding a little momentum after its 26-20 comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6, but that one-game surge disappeared when the Browns ended it with a walkoff field goal.
Pollard was the bright spot in the defeat. He finished with 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns against a Browns defense that had been tough all game, averaging more than 5.0 yards per carry. Before Sunday, he had totaled 349 rushing yards and one touchdown through six games.
That kind of outing changes the conversation fast, especially with Pollard in the final year of his contract and a new coaching staff in place. There had already been chatter about whether he fits into Tennessee’s future beyond this season. Now, after a breakout game like this, the Titans have a chance to see whether they can turn that production into something useful before the deadline.
If Mike Borgonzi and Robert Saleh view Pollard as a short-term piece rather than part of the long-term plan, the logic is straightforward: find a team that needs a running back and see what the market looks like. With the deadline set for Tuesday, November 10th, Tennessee has a narrow window to decide whether to hold on or cash in.
And with the Titans sitting at 1-6, this season is drifting toward development mode unless they suddenly flip the script in a major way. That makes moving Pollard even more sensible. Even a 5th- or 6th-round pick would be better than watching him leave in March with nothing coming back.
For now, Tennessee turns to the Cincinnati Bengals before its Week 9 bye. But after Pollard’s showing against Cleveland, the Titans have to at least explore what he might bring back on the market.
In Other News...
Titans Loss Just Fueled Another Brutal Officiating Debate
The officiating chatter around a recent NFL game in Nashville has lingered long after the final whistle, and not just because of the outcome. Several errors were noted in real time, including a missed false start on a key play, a facemask penalty that went uncalled on a third-down sack, and a likely missed touchdown by Titans quarterback Cam Ward that had plenty of fans and observers rewatching the sequence.
For Tennessee, the frustration is less about one isolated play than the pattern that emerged across the afternoon. The calls, or non-calls, quickly took over social media and added another layer to a familiar league-wide complaint about consistency, leaving the Titans with more questions about how the game was officiated than about the snap-by-snap action itself. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Ward Offered A Frustrating Explanation For That Late Titans Miss
Cam Ward had a chance to help the Titans extend a late drive against the Browns, but the rookie quarterback sailed a wide-open throw to tight end Daniel Bellinger in a moment that stood out immediately on a frustrating afternoon. Ward finished 15 of 29 for 142 yards with one interception and three sacks, and the miss came in a game where Tennessee needed every clean snap it could get.
Ward later pointed to excitement as the reason for the errant throw, and the encouraging part for Tennessee was how quickly he moved on. He settled back in and hit key passes later in the drive, a small but meaningful sign that the mistake did not linger even if the result still did. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Just Claimed The NFL Spot Every Contender Wants
After seven weeks, the NFLs poles have been set, and for teams like the Titans, the gap between those extremes only feels wider. Minnesota is still the leagues lone unbeaten team, while the Chargers remain stuck as the only club without a win, a strange place for a contender landscape to be this early. Tennessee, meanwhile, sits at 1-6 and is dealing with a far more familiar kind of pressure, the kind that starts inside the building when losses keep piling up and the answers are getting harder to find.
Robert Saleh has already made his frustration with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll clear, and for a Titans team that badly needs stability, that tension matters as much as the record itself. The Chargers had the week off and still came out of it carrying the same issues that have haunted them all season, injuries and inconsistency among them, but Tennessees situation feels more immediate because the frustration is now public. At this point, the Titans are not just chasing wins - they are chasing calm. [Read more 🡒]