With the offensive line beginning to show signs of life, the biggest issue the Green Bay Packers need to address at the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline is their running back room. Unless they want to break the bank and spend significant draft capital to chase a star like Jonathan Taylor, the best bet for Green Bay's front office might be to target a reliable veteran like Tony Pollard of the Tennessee Titans.
Now in his eighth year as a pro, Pollard is working toward his fifth straight season of 1,250+ scrimmage yards. The 29-year-old former Pro Bowler has never averaged fewer than four yards per rushing attempt in his career and is averaging 4.5 yards per touch for a 1-7 team in Tennessee. Regardless of the circumstances around him, Pollard always seems to find a way to produce.
With the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline less than a week away, Easton Butler reports that Green Bay has called Tennessee about Pollard's availability, and the asking price is a pick in the third or fourth round. Green Bay is currently projected to have two picks in the third (their own + a compensatory pick) and two picks in the fourth (their own + a fourth-rounder from trading Rashan Gary to Dallas). That gives them as clear an opportunity as you could ask for to bolster a lackluster running back room.
Tony Pollard brings a professionalism and consistency that the Green Bay Packers need from their running backs.
Even after the return of former All-Star Josh Jacobs, the Packers haven't found any daylight in their ground game, with the fewest rushing yards in the NFL through eight weeks at 485 — a mark more than a dozen teams who've played fewer games than Green Bay beat easily. In their most recent win over the Carolina Panthers, they mustered just 66 rushing yards on about 2.5 yards per carry, which was buoyed largely by an 18-yard rush by wide receiver Savion Williams. Jacobs had 39 rushing yards on 21 carries in the contest.
There is no serious dirt on Tony Pollard's name. He's largely regarded as a team-first player and a hard worker who has clearly shed his ego as a vocal and on-field leader for a rebuilding Titans team. Being traded to Green Bay would give him an immediate leading role for a team with serious aspirations, desperately in need of a boost heading into the second half of the season slate.
Pollard isn't the home run smash pick that Jonathan Taylor is, but he doesn't need to be. He's a versatile back who's comfortable rushing the ball traditionally or operating as a pass-catching back with a 76% catch rate in his career.
Whether they want to motivate Jacobs by putting him in a committee or hand the keys to a capable veteran in Pollard, this trade could only help a situation that couldn't be more dire than it currently is. Unless there's a better use of that draft capital we're not seeing right now, Pollard is probably the best available choice for Green Bay at the deadline this year.
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