Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup (13) is wrapped up by Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Logan Ryan (26) following a second quarter catch in a Wild Card Playoff game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, January 16, 2023.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
Six years ago, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and wide receiver Michael Gallup joined the Cowboys together.
They left Friday in the same fashion.
The Cowboys released Vander Esch, a 2018 first-round pick, with a failed physical designation and Gallup, a 2018 third-round choice, with a post-June 1 designation. The two men were selected a day apart and represented the final holdovers of a deep draft class that included guard Connor Williams, defensive end Dorance Armstrong, tight end Dalton Schultz and wide receiver Cedrick Wilson.
Neither decision was a surprise.
For months, the Cowboys have prepared to be without Vander Esch, whose medical standing following recurring neck issues will soon lead to a decision regarding retirement. Eric Kendricks, 32, signed a one-year contract Friday and projects as the starting middle linebacker in 2024. Releasing Vander Esch, owed $2 million in non-guaranteed 2024 salary, helped clear salary-cap room for Kendricks.
Gallup was due an $8.5 million salary. Of it, $4 million stood to become fully guaranteed if he remained on the roster after 3 p.m. Saturday.
Gallup’s post-June 1 designation was done for salary-cap management purposes. While the release unavoidably creates $13.05 million in dead money against the cap, the hit is now spread across two years. He will continue to carry a $13.85 million cap number in 2024 as if still on the team. Come June, the Cowboys will add $9.5 million in 2024 cap space. Gallup will count $8.7 million in 2025.
He was scheduled to be the fourth-highest paid offensive player on the Cowboys’ 2024 books, trailing only quarterback Dak Prescott, guard Zack Martin and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. He finished fifth in targets in 2023 despite playing every game; his 57 targets were fewer than Lamb (181), tight end Jake Ferguson (102), wide receiver Brandin Cooks (81) and running back Tony Pollard (67).
Gallup suffered a torn left ACL and MCL on Jan. 2, 2022.
The Cowboys signed him to a five-year, $62.5 million extension two months later while parting with Amari Cooper and Wilson that same offseason.
Gallup struggled in his first season following the knee injury and, at the start of 2023, still hadn’t rediscovered his form. The drop-off prompted a diminished role at the Week 7 bye. In the first six games, Gallup drew 32 targets, second on the team to Lamb’s 46. Gallup caught 18 of those 32 passes for 204 yards and no touchdowns. Before the bye, Prescott had a 60.8 rating on throws intended for Gallup, including an interception when Gallup failed to separate against press-man coverage in Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Vander Esch suffered a neck injury that same game and missed the season’s remainder.
His future seems more appropriate to address once he announces his career intentions.
As for Gallup, he can derive confidence in how his Cowboys tenure closed. He logged six receptions on six targets for 103 yards in a January playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, making a strong case for having been underutilized down the season’s stretch. He finished sixth in targets in the 11 regular-season games after the bye. The 100-yard performance was Gallup’s first since his knee injury. Gallup is healthy now, setting up an opportunity to distance himself from his knee injury elsewhere.
Lamb, Cooks, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin and 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks top the depth chart at wide receiver. Martavis Bryant, Jalen Cropper, David Durden and Racey McBath round out the group. Bryant has a similar skill set as Gallup, although he is 32 and has not appeared in an NFL game since the 2018 season.
The Cowboys seem certain to draft a linebacker next month.
It is possible a wide receiver, like in 2018, could come, too.
