Cowboys former first-round pick named 'potential cap casualty'

Leighton Vander Esch.

The Cowboys are still $10.6 million over the salary cap heading into 2024, according to Over The Cap. As a result, more cuts are expected to come in Dallas

The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov believes it could come in the form of one of the Cowboys’ former first-round picks.

Meirov named linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, a first-round pick in 2018, a “potential cap casualty” with the start of free agency and the new league year just a little over a week away on March 13 at 4 p.m. ET.

“Leighton Vander Esch missed the final 12 games of the season because of another neck injury, which could put his playing career in jeopardy,” Meirov writes.

The 28-year-old has struggled to stay healthy over the past couple of seasons and his stats don’t jump off the screen either, combining for 120 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble during the span.

If the Cowboys do decide to move on from Vander Esch, they will save $2.14 million in cap space while taking a dead-money hit of $2.25 million.

That alone won’t solve Dallas’ salary-cap problem, but it will be another step in the right direction to get under it before the new league year begins.

The Cowboys will have to address the position in free agency or the 2024 NFL Draft if Vander Esch is a cap casualty, but those outlets will provide cheaper and younger options.

Meirov adds that if Dallas is not willing to move on from Vander Esch, another name to watch is wide receiver Michael Gallup.

Gallup signed a five-year, $62.5 million deal in 2022 and has just 73 catches for 842 yards and six touchdowns in the past two years.

Either way, the Cowboys have some difficult decisions to make in the coming days and both Vander Esch and Gallup may have played their last down in Dallas.

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