Tag: Michael Gallup

Ravens to host former Cowboys WR Michael Gallup on a free agent visit

The Baltimore Ravens will host former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup on a free agent visit

The Ravens need a big, physical wide receiver, and the team will host former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup on a free-agent visit.

Dallas released the 2018 third-round pick on March 15.

According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, the Cowboys have designated the move as a post-June one cut, saving them $9.5 million in 2024 but adding $8.7 million in dead cap next year.

Gallup’s most productive season came in 2019 when he logged 1,107 receiving yards — but he’s failed to surpass 500 such yards in the past three seasons while playing 40 of 51 possible regular-season games.

Gallup, who turned 28 earlier this month, is coming off a 2023 regular season in which he recorded 34 catches for 418 yards and two touchdowns on 57 targets in 17 games with the Cowboys.

Cap ramifications as Cowboys release Michael Gallup, Leighton Vander Esch

The Dallas Cowboys have had the ability to create a ton of cap space whenever they felt like it this offseason. Anyone believing the lack of acquisitions in free agency has been related to them being up against the cap ceiling without making moves …

The Dallas Cowboys have had the ability to create a ton of cap space whenever they felt like it this offseason. Anyone believing the lack of acquisitions in free agency has been related to them being up against the cap ceiling without making moves on Dak Prescott or CeeDee Lamb have been mistaken. The team has made smaller moves, bringing in Eric Kendricks to help at linebacker and bringing back Jourdan Lewis and C.J. Goodwin to help the defense and special teams, respectively.

Starting the offseason with just under $2 million of space isn’t enough to make all three of those moves official. On Friday, the club announced two of the least surprising decisions, releasing the last two members of their 2018 draft class, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and wide receiver Michael Gallup. Both players have storied injury history that prevented them from accomplishing the heights they teased throughout their early careers.

Vander Esch was the team’s first-round pick in 2018, hailing from Boise State. A familiar pipeline for the Cowboys, they’ve had many Broncos in their fold, but Vander Esch had the highest draft pedigree among them. His career started out well, earning a Pro Bowl nod and being named second-team All-Pro as a rookie while playing a full 16 games. He made 140 tackles that year with two interceptions.

However a series of neck injuries since a pinched nerve suffered in 2016 limited him to just one more full season over the next five campaigns.

Vander Esch played in just 19 games over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and after a full slate in 2021, played in just 19 games over the last two seasons. During a Week 5 loss to San Francisco, 49ers OT Trent Williams blocked Vander Esch into Micah Parsons, causing a significant injury where his career was put in jeopardy.

There have been many concerned since last year that Vander Esch would not be able to return to football, and though Friday’s announcement didnt’ say he was retiring, he will not be with the Dallas Cowboys moving forward.

Gallup was a third-round pick out of Colorado State when the Cowboys plucked him in 2018. He would then be paired with Amari Cooper after a midseason trade and had a tremendous sophomore campaign in 2019, hauling in 66 receptions for 1,106 yards and six touchdowns. The following year, CeeDee Lamb fell to the Cowboys in the draft and visions of a three-headed monster at wideout were had by all.

Only it never really came to fruition.

In 2021, Gallup tore his ACL and while he was known as one of the best contested ball catchers in the league, he was never a huge separator. The knee injury exacerbated that shortcoming and his 2022 campaign was lackluster. In 14 games he caught just 39 passes and didn’t surpass 500 receiving yards. The thought process was that a full year removed from the injury would see him bounce back, but despite quarterback Dak Prescott turning in a performance worthy of MVP votes, Gallup’s numbers didn’t escalate.

Vander Esch’s release means the Cowboys save at least $2.15 million against the 2024 cap and that money is available immediately.He was set to make $3 million in base salary and another $147k in roster bonuses. $1 million of his base salary was guaranteed, meaning a release or retirement puts just over $2 million back into Dallas’ cap space. With the team releasing him with an injury designation, perhaps there was an agreement to lessen the $1 million they will need to pay him.

Meanwhile the savings from Gallup’s release will be much greater, they just won’t be immediate.

Gallup was released with a June 1 designation. That allows the team to avoid accelerating the bonus-money allocation that remains from 2025 and beyond onto this season’s cap. Any player released after June 1 impacts the cap in this way and each NFL team is allowed to designate two players such as this in advance of that date.

It allows the player to enter free agency when the other 31 teams have not spent all of their cap space, increasing the odds that player can be signed elsewhere. For the team though, the cap savings do not occur until June 2.

That means the money saved from releasing Gallup, his base salary of $8.5 million plus another $1 million in game-day bonuses, will not hit the cap until later in the offseason. It will be used for signing the draft class and carrying cap space into the season for IR replacement signings and end-of-year incentives.

Report: Panthers ‘one to watch’ if Cowboys look to trade WR Michael Gallup

If the Cowboys are looking to unload WR Michael Gallup, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler sees the Panthers as a potential landing spot.

Free agency won’t be the only available avenue the receiver-needy Carolina Panthers can drive down this spring.

Along with ESPN colleague and fellow league insider Dan Graziano, senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler just dropped a few nuggets ahead of this year’s legal tampering period. One of his hunches connects the Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys, who could be looking to unload wideout Michael Gallup.

Fowler wrote the following about some potential movement:

Trade names are percolating, and we already saw Jeudy get dealt to Cleveland on Saturday after Denver fielded calls from several interested teams, per sources. The Cowboys are exploring all options with receiver Michael Gallup, including a potential trade. The Panthers could be one to watch here. Teams have also told me that the Buccaneers are open to potentially parting with either of their starting corners, Carlton Davis III or Jamel Dean.

Gallup and the Cowboys agreed to five-year, $62.5 million extension in March of 2022, the spring after he tore his ACL in the team’s Week 17 outing of 2021. He’s played in 31 games since, where he’s totaled 842 yards and six scores off 73 catches.

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Cowboys’ Jerry Jones noncommittal on WR Michael Gallup’s future: ‘We need to sit down’

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys owner hinted that the club and WR needed to sit down and talk soon, but he lauded what Gallup has meant to the Cowboys.

Cowboys fans have learned to rightfully take anything owner Jerry Jones says with a grain tablespoon fully-loaded 18-wheeler truckload of salt.

The club’s seeming willingness to let eight-time Pro Bowl tackle Tyron Smith simply walk out the door (or at least the casual manner in which they’re letting that storyline float around in the ether) after making some nebulous, impossible-to-actually-quantify-but-it’ll-look-great-on-T-shirts-in-the-pro-shop “all in” proclamation is ample, maddening proof.

But Jones is even waffling- at least publicly- on what looks to be, on the surface, the easiest slam-dunk decision of the Cowboys’ offseason.

When asked during his annual bus powwow at the scouting combine about wide receiver Michael Gallup’s future with the club, the 81-year-old was predictably noncommittal.

“[We] Don’t have a decision that we would like to talk about right now,” Jones told reporters. “It’s one that we’ll be going over with him. Nothing that we would say without him being involved. We need to sit down and go over his stuff with him before we talk about what we’re going to do or not do.”

While that’s the fair and prudent thing to say out loud, all logical indications are that the Cowboys should likely cut the six-year veteran following a decline in production that’s now lasted four years, since his only 1,000-yard campaign in 2019.

Gallup is currently slated to count $13.85 million against the 2024 salary cap, but the team could save $9.5 million if they designate him a post-June 1 cut.

The fact that he’s caught just 73 balls for 842 yards in the two years since his ACL injury makes it tough for some to justify even the $4 million he’s due if he’s on the Dallas roster on March 18.

But alternatively, there’s also sentiment that a rapidly-shrinking wide receiver market could make Gallup a trade target for some needy team. He could actually earn the Cowboys something in return if they just hold on long enough… and do a little salesmanship in the meantime.

Jones insisted that the former third-round draft pick has meant far more to the Cowboys than his recent stats suggest. He pointed to the five-year, $57 million contract the front office gave him just three months after his injury as evidence.

“What he means is reflected in his salary and the deal that we gave him,” Jones explained. “And that’s exactly the way we felt about him, feel about him.”

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But Jones knows there is a long list of Cowboys players who are similarly up for review in the coming days, weeks, and months.

And he can’t allow how he felt about Michael Gallup as the 2019 player or how he feels about Michael Gallup as the 2024 person to be the deciding factor in what happens moving forward.

“What we need to do today, relative to what’s available, we’ll have to really consider it. We’ve got to really give that consideration,” the owner said. “We’ve got some other considerations we have to consider right now, too. We’ll go over that with him.”

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Cowboys have cornered the market at just under 8% of 2024 salary cap

The Cowboys are top heavy in their cornerback room, opening the door to help in free agency or the draft. | From @ArmyChiefW3

For a long time, the Cowboys were a struggling secondary when it came to getting interceptions. From 2015 through 2020, they never picked off more than 10 passes in a single season, and doing that only twice in the span. Then, in 2021, All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs did that by himself with his his league-leading 11 picks while the team totaled an amazing 26. 17 of those turnovers came from the cornerback room that season. In 2022, Dallas had 16 interceptions as a team while 2023 added another 17 making it three straight seasons in which Dallas ranked in the top 10 in total interceptions.

Wondering if Dallas can do it again under a new scheme is a valid question with Dan Quinn in Washington and Mike Zimmer taking over the defense and changing the playbook. Another question ishow much depth Dallas really has looking beyond their two projected starters. Five players under contract means the Cowboys have a sneaky need at the position and questions linger after the top two guys. Nonetheless, the current corners in Dallas rival another group for the best-managed room on the roster.

WR Michael Gallup named the Cowboys most likely cap casualty in 2024

According to recent lists the Cowboys veteran WR, Michael Gallup, is their most likely cut this offseason – here’s the how and why behind it. | From @ReidDHanson

Tis the season for roster cuts. Whether a team is flush with cap space or over the allowed limits, the early part of the offseason is fat trimming time. Sometimes the names are surprising, other times the names are quite obvious. For the Cowboys, it’s the latter category.

Michael Gallup, named the Cowboys player most likely to be cut this offseason by The Athletic, is coming off his third consecutive season with less than 40 receptions and less than 500 yards. Slated to count $13,850,000 against the salary cap in 2024, his compensation has seemingly far surpassed his production.

The Cowboys can save $9,500,000 by designating Gallup a post June-1 cut per OTC. Given the Cowboys currently sit $21,570,700 over the cap, it provides instant relief to the bottom line. When packaged with a handful of other extensions and restructurings, it’s money that can be used to upgrade the elsewhere on the roster.

Since suffering a knee injury in Week 17 of the 2021 season, Gallup has struggled to regain form. Gallup had long held an identity as a downfield sideline weapon and contested ball wizard, but the injury seemingly robbed him of that ability. Since 2019, Gallup’s yardage totals have consistently declined year over year, making his release a fairly predictable action this offseason.

Gallup, drafted in the third round of the 2018 draft, was handed a near-impossible job from the start. The Cowboys, having just moved on from Dez Bryant, were suddenly employing a WR-by-committee approach to their offense that season. And much of that committee weight fell on the shoulders of their rookie receiver from Colorado State.

Like most mid-round WRs, Gallup struggled with consistency his rookie season. While he managed 33 receptions for 507 yards over the course of the year, it was clear by the trade deadline the committee approach wasn’t working in Dallas. The Cowboys shipped off a first-round pick for Amari Cooper and Gallup was relieved of much of the burden which not long before had been irresponsibly bestowed on him.

As WR2 Gallup thrived. In 2019 he logged his only +1,000-yard season of his career. He served as an excellent complement to Cooper and could work from a variety of places including the ultra-physical X position.

The good times didn’t last for Gallup. Dallas drafted CeeDee Lamb in 2020, bumping Gallup down to WR3 and reducing his overall opportunities. Then a season-ending injury to Dak Prescott took a slice out of those opportunities even more as the Cowboys prolific passing attack got shelved with Prescott sidelined.

2023 served as a final chance for Gallup to prove he’d rebounded from that knee injury that had plagued him for so long. Sadly, it only reaffirmed what the Cowboys had already feared.

With younger players on the roster eager to develop bigger roles in Dallas, Gallup has become a high-priced progress stopper. His departure this offseason – a forgone conclusion.

With very few significantly sized long-term deals on the books, there aren’t any other obvious cuts this offseason. Gallup is the obvious choice here for reasons outside of his control. He was once a very good player with a handful of jaw-dropping highlight catches. He should always be remembered fondly even if things seem destined to end poorly.

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Multiple outlets ID same Cowboys playmaker as possible cut candidate

From @ToddBrock24f7: NFL.com, PFF, and The Athletic believe WR Michael Gallup’s days in Dallas could be numbered, with declining stats and cap decisions looming.

The lull before free agency is always a time of heavy-duty forecasting. Analysts across the football landscape scrutinize rosters, double-check salary cap numbers, and check their front office and agent sources as they try to predict which moves each club will make as they start to assemble their 2024 teams.

It’s a time when everyone knows that walking papers are coming for some.

Three top outlets have put together their lists of cut candidates, and they’re all in agreement that one playmaker’s time in Dallas may be nearing an end as the Cowboys look to make a dent in the second-largest cap overage in the NFC.

NFL.com, PFF, and The Athletic all name wide receiver Michael Gallup as a potential cap casualty.

The soon-to-be-28-year-old may have peaked in 2019 when he topped 1,100 receiving yards and scored six touchdowns. His 2020 suffered with the loss of quarterback Dak Prescott and the arrival of CeeDee Lamb. The next year saw him miss eight games with a calf malady and then tear an ACL in Week 17. He was a shadow of his former self in 2022 as he fought to come back from that injury, and although he played in all 17 games this past season, he averaged just two catches per contest and finished with a career low in yards.

Gallup clearly hasn’t been the player the Cowboys thought they were getting when he signed a new contract on 2022, a deal that still has three years to go on it.

PFF suggests a salary reduction, from $8.5 million to the $4 million Gallup currently has guaranteed for injury; that amount will vest to fully guaranteed a few days into the new league year.

The Athletic‘s Jon Machota notes that if the Cowboys make Gallup a post-June 1 cut, they’ll be left with $13 million in dead cap, a move that “would only save Dallas about $800,00 in 2024 because his cap hit for the upcoming season is $13.85 million.”

NFL.com actually offers up Gallup and Brandin Cooks as possible cuts, stating that “neither… seem like a fit for the WR2 shoes behind CeeDee Lamb and either/both would save the team money if released.”

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Cooks could be seen as worth bringing back. It took him a while to mesh with the offense in his first year wearing the star, but the veteran came on stronger as the season progressed and scored six of his eight touchdowns from November on.

Unfortunately, the team likely knows for certain what it has in Gallup. And while the former third-round draft pick has provided some memorable highlight-reel grabs during his six seasons, the writing may be on the wall, and a new chapter may be coming.

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Here’s how the Cowboys 10 WRs impact the 2024 salary cap

A breakdown of the Cowboys wide receiver room’s contracts and impact on the salary cap as the club enters the team building phase. | From @ArmyChiefW3

The Cowboys have 10 wide receivers under contract for 2024 and the new league year hasn’t even begun. To an outsider looking in, it may feel like Dallas does not have much room to add to this position group. A deep dive into contract specifics muddies the waters and calls into question the total amount of money that goes to the group.

Wideout CeeDee Lamb is the unquestioned leader of this group and figures to command a large payday. Behind him, sits a collection of varying degrees of pedigree, skill and experience.  Opportunity lurks just around the corner but trust must be earned by both the coaching staff and the quarterback as well, as evidenced by the volume directed at Lamb.

After checking out both the quarterback room and the running backs, here’s a look at the financial breakdown of all of the wideouts on the Cowboys 2024 roster in February.

Watch: 5 best catches of the Cowboys 2023 season

From CeeDee Lamb to Jake Ferguson, these are the five best catches from the Dallas Cowboys on the 2023 season. | From @BenGrimaldi

The season has been over for a few weeks now for the Dallas Cowboys, and despite the disappointment of how it ended there were plenty of good moments to remember. For the offense, it might have taken a handful of weeks to get going, but the Cowboys wound up the No. 1 scoring team in the league at almost 30 points a game.

A large part of the offensive success was because of the passing game, which ranked third in the league in yards and helped quarterback Dak Prescott lead the NFL in passing touchdowns. There were some big plays and improbable catches to aid in their passing attack. Here are the five best catches for the 2023 season for the Cowboys.

Is Michael Gallup’s shrinking role something that needs fixing?

What has been Michael Gallup’s main issue in 2023 and can the Cowboys justify giving him more targets going forward? | From @ReidDHanson

Michael Gallup has been the subject of much criticism this season for Dallas. The homegrown WR has struggled to regain form following a 2021 knee injury, and by most accounts failed to live up to his five-year/$57,500,000 contract signed in the 2022 offseason.

Gallup began the 2023 season as the Cowboys WR3. Dallas traded for the veteran Brandin Cooks to offer complementary speed to CeeDee Lamb’s presence and seemed lucky to have a WR of Gallup’s talent playing a tertiary role. But early struggles by Gallup led to a more diminished role as the Cowboys began incorporating second year player Jalen Tolbert and the explosive KaVontae Turpin into the offense.

Since the win against Philadelphia in Week 14, Gallup has only seen a total of three targets. Last week against Detroit he didn’t log a single target. The issue sparked a conversation with Mike McCarthy regarding ball distribution.

“One of the biggest things I tried to emphasis again today is we got to get our ball distribution up,” McCarthy said. “It’s not where it needs to be the last three weeks.”

Coming off a game where Lamb posted 13 receptions for 227 yards, ball distribution is an understandable concern. Then again, which one of those balls would be better served going elsewhere? The reason Lamb is getting so many opportunities with the ball is because he gets open and makes the most of those plays.

With 20 of 68 targets qualifying as contested, Gallup has had struggled with separation in 2023. And with only seven completions in that group of 20 contested catches, he doesn’t have the most inspiring success rate. He doesn’t always power back to the ball and shield off more aggressive defenders, resulting in close calls and even interceptions (two interceptions when targeting Gallup in 2023).

As the Cowboys contemplate Michael Gallup’s reduced role in 2023 and his subsequent decline in targets, they should keep in mind Jake Ferguson’s sudden rise on offense. Both Ferguson and Lamb lead their respective NFL position groups in red zone targets this season. And recently Cooks has become a top red zone target of Prescott as well. With so many balls going to players who are actually open, it’s hard to justify a more even distribution of balls going to Gallup.

At the end of the day the Cowboys are best served with a less predictable and more balanced distribution. Teams will try to take Lamb away in the postseason and it will be up to the others to make them pay. But if Gallup can’t get separation downfield, there’s no reason to target him over Tolbert, Turpin or Ferguson.

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