FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys are moving on from two of their more noteworthy names from the last decade -- although neither move should come as a shock to fans.
Front office sources with the Cowboys confirmed on Friday that Dallas is releasing wide receiver Michael Gallup and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch in a pair of moves that have been hinted at for some time.
Both moves will save the Cowboys salary cap space for 2024.
Gallup was given permission to seek a trade earlier in this offseason, but nothing materialized for a wideout who caught 66 passes for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns in his second year in the NFL, but was never able to duplicate that kind of production. An ACL tear at the end of the 2021 season upended his success, and Gallup -- a third-round selection in the 2018 draft -- hasn't been able to return to the receiver he was before the injury.
Vander Esch has had a career pockmarked with injury woes. His neck injury against San Francisco in October ended his 2023 season, and all indications are that it might have ended his career as well, as Vander Esch suffered from cervical spinal stenosis. The expectation is that Vander Esch -- a Pro Bowler in 2018 as a rookie after being selected 18th overall in the NFL Draft as the Cowboys' first round pick -- will retire this offseason.
The release of Gallup will save Dallas $9.5 million in cap space for the 2024 season, as Dallas is expected to make him a post-June 1st cut. The Gallup move will also cost Dallas $8.7 million in cap space in 2025.
Vander Esch's release comes with a failed physical designation. That means Vander Esch will receive his full 2024 salary from the Cowboys, but that only up to $1.2 million of it will count against the salary cap.
With the moves, Dallas no longer has any members of its 2018 draft class on the current roster.
In a week in which the NFL has seen a number of big-name free agents signing contracts and changing teams, the Cowboys have mostly -- and, to many fans -- frustratingly -- stood pat.
Releasing Gallup and Vander Esch, however, could free up the Cowboys to make some moves. If not by signing free agents to the roster, then perhaps to make good on their promises to extend the contracts of the high-value players currently donning the star.