The Dallas Cowboys made the difficult, but obvious, decision last offseason to release Michael Gallup, who really struggled to bounce back from a torn ACL suffered at the end of the 2021 season.
Injuries forced Gallup to retire shortly after the 2023 season, but he has since unretired and reunited with Dan Quinn on the rival Commanders. The hope was that Gallup would catch on and move up a flimsy Washington wide receiver depth chart, but it didn’t come to pass.
Gallup was among the several veterans the Commanders cut on Monday before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET 53-man roster deadline.
Cowboys shouldn’t be surprised by Commanders’ decision to cut Michael Gallup
On a sentimental level, it’s impossible not to feel for Gallup.
A third-round pick out of Colorado State in 2018, Gallup was one of the more dynamic playmakers in all of football before injuries derailed his career. He cemented himself as one of the best young WR2s with a breakout second year in which he caught 66 passes for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns. He followed that up with 843 receiving yards and five TDs in 2020, the year CeeDee Lamb was drafted, but that two-year run sadly marked the peak of his career.
Cowboys fans could have told Washington that Gallup had little, if nothing, left in the tank after the 2023 season. Even two years removed from ACL surgery, his separation rate was among the worst at the WR position and he was ultimately demoted to WR3 in favor of Jalen Tolbert.
The Commanders gave Gallup every shot to make the roster, but he turned 10 targets in the preseason into just four catches for 40 yards. They need better efficiency for second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Now 29 years old, it’s easy to understand why Quinn and his staff decided to go in a different direction. With Terry McLaurin back in the fold after signing a blockbuster extension, and the roster deadline fast approaching, Washington didn’t have any reason to keep the former Cowboy any longer.
Hopefully Gallup sticks with it and finds a new home before the start of the season. The NFL is better when he’s making plays.
