Michael Gallup missed the first three games of the Cowboys’ regular season as he wrapped up rehab from a torn ACL suffered nine months prior. Over his 16 total outings in 2022, he turned in less-than-spectacular numbers and, to the eyes of many observers, looked like he simply wasn’t 100%.
Turns out, he wasn’t.
Gallup underwent arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday, with doctors doing what was described as a “minimally-invasive meniscus repair and ankle clean-up,” according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
The procedure was performed on Gallup’s right knee and ankle; his previous ACL tear, suffered Jan. 2 of last year, was to his left knee.
The five-year veteran out of Colorado State caught just 39 balls and four touchdowns during the regular season, finishing with career lows in receiving yards, yards per reception, and yards per game.
Gallup never logged more than five receptions in any contest and topped 50 yards just once over the course of the regular slate.
Largely missing for most of the year were his explosive 4.5-speed and his acrobatic contested-catch skills, leaving him a watered-down threat opposite CeeDee Lamb in a Cowboys offense that was already thin on experienced pass-catchers.
Gallup added five more grabs and a touchdown in the wild-card round of the playoffs versus Tampa Bay, but was shut out the following week against San Francisco.
The receiver, who will turn 27 in March, still figures to be an important part of the team’s passing game moving forward. After signing a five-year, $57.5 million extension deal last offseason, his $11 million base salary is fully guaranteed for the coming campaign.
Beyond that, though, his future in Dallas is less clear, so a strong 2023 will be of utmost importance for the former third-round draft pick.
Per the team website, Gallup is expected to “recover in time to participate in some offseason practices with a chance to be fully healthy by the start of training camp.”
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