WR Michael Gallup facing uncertain future with Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup.

Michael Gallup has spent his entire six-year career with the Cowboys, but his tenure in Dallas could be coming to an end soon. The veteran wideout faces the possibility of being released as part of the team’s cost-cutting maneuvers.

Gallup is a release candidate, Pro Football Network’s Adam Caplan notes. Three seasons remain on his current pact, a five-year, $57.5M deal inked following the expiration of his rookie contract.

The former third-rounder does not have any of his base salaries over that span guaranteed at this point, but that will soon change with respect to the coming season. A $4M injury guarantee is set to vest on March 18, locking in a portion of his $8.5M salary for 2024.

Dallas restructured Gallup’s deal last offseason, and he is now scheduled to carry a cap hit of $13.85M this season; that figure will jump to $15.85M in 2025 and ’26.

A release before June 1 would not be feasible given the dead cap charge it would induce ($13.05M), but moving on from the 27-year-old after that date would create $9.5M in savings against $4.35M in dead money for 2024.

Cowboys officials met with Gallup’s agent at the combine, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports. He adds that no decision has been made regarding the Colorado State product’s future with the team, but moving on would create much-needed financial flexibility (albeit not until June 2) in an offseason where Dallas has a number of critical decisions to make.

A Dak Prescott extension and monster deals for CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons are on the organizational to-do list in 2024 and into the near future. A Gallup release would also represent a cost-shedding move with a complementary element of the team’s passing game.

The vertical threat showcased his ability with an 1,107-yard campaign in his second season, but he has failed to match that production since. Gallup drew 218 targets between 2019-20, but in the three years following that stretch he has received 193.

After seeing a relatively steady workload for four years as a full-time starter, he saw his snap share fall to 52% in 2023 (the lowest mark of his career). Moving on from Gallup could allow Dallas to pursue a less expensive secondary WR option one year after being connected to a sizable skill-position addition.

Lamb delivered a franchise record-setting season last year with 135 catches and 1,749 yards. Veteran pickup Brandin Cooks finished second in terms of receiver production, but he, along with tight end Jake Ferguson and running back Tony Pollard saw a larger share of the passing attack than Gallup.

One more season removed from an ACL tear, the latter may remain resigned to ranking no more than third or fourth (at best) in the pecking order if Dallas elected to keep him in the fold.

In the event Gallup is let go, Watkins reports he could have a healthy free agent market. A reduced workload has weakened his overall production, but over the past three seasons he has averaged a 36-429 statline while scoring eight total touchdowns. His catch percentage has also remained roughly in line with his career average (55.5%), so he would constitute a known commodity on the open market.

The question of if he is forced to find a deal with a new team will be worth watching as free agency approaches.

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