Each year, teams create their rosters with varying levels of confidence from position to position, and even player to player. The 2023 Dallas Cowboys are no different, and this season they are placing a lot of faith in select people to play key roles despite some legitimate concerns about their health or performance.
Salary cap limits, especially when you’re paying a veteran quarterback, mean you can’t be as talented or as deep as you’d like throughout the roster. You are forced to take some risks at a few points. Sometimes that means sticking with someone who still has a lot of dead money in their contract or gambling on a lower-priced free agent that comes with some baggage.
Who are the Cowboys’ biggest punters of the year?
WR Michael Gallup
It’s been a difficult year for Gallup. A preseason calf injury cost him the first half of 2021 and then an ACL injury in Week 17 carried him into 2022. Gallup, who emerged as one of Dak Prescott’s favorite targets in clutch moments, was a shell of his former self and miserable. Ineffective on the field as he worked his way back from major knee surgery.
The Cowboys showed great faith in Gallup’s recovery last year when they gave him a huge contract extension and dumped Amari Cooper. They doubled down on that selection last season by restructuring the Gallup deal to create cap space, driving more dead money into the final years of the contract.
While trading for Brandin Cooks takes the pressure off Gallup compared to last year, the WR3 is still expected to be at the very least. And with highly unproven options like Jalen Tolbert and Simi Fehoko as the next guys, Dallas is counting on Gallup to be a stable presence on the depth chart. His need to be security cover on critical touchdowns may also increase with the eventual loss of Dalton Schultz.
There’s a lot to put at the feet of a man who hasn’t been right since 2020. Gallup is still only 27 and there’s plenty of reason for optimism now that he’s been sidelined with an ACL injury. But if Dallas’ faith isn’t rewarded, Gallup’s continued decline could be a major blow to the Cowboys’ offensive power.
OTS Tyrone Smith and Terrence Steele
Dallas takes double risks on the offensive line. Smith had become chronically unavailable over the past few years, and Steele would come out with a torn ACL late in the season.
You’re probably sick of hearing this like we said, but Smith hasn’t played a full season since 2015. After four years of missing at least three games from 2016-2019, things have derailed with 31 games missed since 2020.
Still only 32 years old, Smith’s diminishing availability could turn out with better luck. But given how things have been going for many years now, Dallas is taking a big risk by relying on the veteran offensive tackle. That’s exactly what they’re doing in 2023 as Smith is expected to start somewhere on the line.
Tyrone’s case wouldn’t be so bad if I had full confidence in Steele, but the right tackle Dallas still has to prove he’s fully recovered. If the Cowboys fail on both bets, the offensive line could collapse quickly with a slew of unproven young prospects to help out Zach Martin, Tyler Smith and Tyler Biadas. Even veteran free agent Chuma Edoga has just 13 starts under his belt since 2019; It hardly boosts confidence.
At least Tyler Smith can handle the left tackle critical point no matter how shaky things get with the older Steele and Smith. But with their focus on a championship in 2023, the Dallas goal could be blown away without a solid offensive line. They at least need one, if not both, of Tyron Smith and Terence Steele to reach their full potential.
RB Tony Pollard
Returning to the franchise mark and replacing Ezekiel Elliott as the best RB, Pollard faces the highest expectations ever in his NFL career. This comes after a significant lower leg injury in Dallas’ playoff loss 49ers Just five months ago.
While the team is obviously very confident in Pollard’s recovery, given the franchise tag, we saw how that worked out last year for Gallup. Some players need more time to come back from late season injuries especially when they rely on speed. If Pollard can’t reach his high in 2023 or plays hesitantly, it could severely neuter his game.
Those who claim that “running backwards doesn’t matter” may not worry about this. If this were true, a mixture of Ronald Jones, Deuce Von, and others could make up the bulk of the overall output.
But there always come those moments in the season when you need more than average; When you need a special talent to play this master swing game. Pollard is that guy who’s now at RB and the Cowboys might need him to bring back every bit of the franchise if they’re going to be an NFC superstar team.
LB Leighton Vander Esch
Dallas re-signed Vander Esch this season for just $4 million a year. One of the reasons he was cheap was a bad history of injuries, which meant the Cowboys assumed that risk with their only experienced linebacker.
Unless Dallas brings back Anthony Barr or adds some other veteran talent before training camp, Vander Esch is the linebacker (with the exception of Micah Parsons) with significant playing time. Damon Clarke only has 10 games from last year, DeMarvion Overshown is a rookie, and Gabriel Cox has barely played in the past two seasons.
An inexperience with the LB depth chart would be concerning even if Vander Esch were the paragon of reliability. But while he did far better in the last two years than that awful 2019-20, Vander Esch missed three games last December with a shoulder injury. You never know him at this point, especially with the neck injury of 2019 that will haunt him for as long as he plays.
Some of the linebacker’s concerns are mitigated by the way Dallas uses safety Jayron Kearse in a hybrid role, which is great for taking up space on the field and providing a veteran drive. But Vander Esch is crucial to the Cowboys’ defense as a true inside player; A cleanup man for a defensive line who has yet to prove he has improved.
While we have high hopes for Clark’s development and solid potential at Overshown and Cox, the idea that any of them could fill Vander Esch’s shoes this year leaves room for doubt. It is a major cog in defense that operates without any network that we can see; Another major concern in the future.