Getty Images
The Dallas Cowboys are once more making strikes to create working room beneath the wage cap because the workforce restructured the contract of extensive receiver Michael Gallup, in response to ESPN. The transfer saves Dallas roughly $7 million towards its books, dropping Gallup’s cap hit from simply over $13.8 million to round $6.4 million, in response to OverTheCap.com.
Gallup signed a five-year, $57.5 million contract with the Cowboys final offseason regardless of having torn his ACL in Week 17 of the 2021 season. Rehab from the harm stored him out of the primary three video games of the 2022 season and prevented him from enjoying a full complement of snaps till near the tip of the yr. In 14 video games, Gallup caught simply 39 passes for 424 yards and 4 touchdowns. His 10.9 yards-per-catch common was the bottom of his profession, and the 52.7% catch fee was decrease than each season save for his rookie yr.
More NFL free company
At his greatest, Gallup is a real “X” receiver who can problem defenses deep down the sphere and win in contested-catch conditions on the perimeter. He largely was not at his greatest in both 2021 or 2022, however the Cowboys are apparently assured he can recapture his pre-injury kind in Year 2 following his restoration.
Dallas nonetheless wants so as to add expertise to its receiving corps, even when Gallup comes nearer to being the participant he was, as a result of no person aside from CeeDee Lamb was capable of threaten defenses with an explosive acquire final yr. However, the Cowboys not often wade into free company nowadays, so it is not essentially clear who their goal for that function may be.
Instead, the transfer would possibly enable the Cowboys to hold onto two high-priced veterans whose time in Dallas doubtless ought to have been coming to a detailed in Tyron Smith and Ezekiel Elliott. They’re presently set to depend towards Dallas’ books for over $34 million, which is basically untenable given the extent of their play and harm threat nowadays. Agreeing to diminished salaries makes rather more sense than maintaining them on their present offers, although outright releasing them (notably Elliott) would doubtless higher serve the workforce’s future.
If Dallas had stored Gallup on his present deal for the 2023 season, it might have had a chance to get out of it on the finish of the yr if he struggled once more. The workforce elected as a substitute to borrow from the long run, making it harder to maneuver on if issues do not go the way in which they need them to.
