The Dallas Cowboys have made their decision regarding Michael Gallup’s future. Following his approval to look for a potential trade partner shortly before this year’s free agency frenzy began, the veteran wide receiver was unable to find a suitable match and was, consequently, released.
The 28-year-old’s decision has been hanging over him for months because he was supposed to make more than $13 million this season and roughly $46 million over the final three years of his current contract—amounts that are out of proportion to his recent difficulties.
Gallup’s designation by the Cowboys as a post-June 1 release will likely ensure that Dallas receives a sizable $9.5 million in cap savings for 2024, which will put them even closer to the black after they reworked the deal with Zack Martin last July. However, it won’t prevent him from signing elsewhere right away.
According to Overthecap.com, the Cowboys will now have roughly $11.7 million in cap space with Gallup’s release; however, this is again pending a post-June 1 designation.
In the unlikely event that he is declared a pre-June 1 release, those savings decrease to a mere $800,000, putting them barely $3 million below the current maximum.
As a result, choosing which option to check is ultimately very simple.
Gallup’s problems on the field are mostly the result of his recovery from an ACL tear he sustained in 2021; he hasn’t been able to regularly regain the explosive form he had before the season-ending injury.
He had moments in 2023, but the addition of Brandin Cooks—who was acquired from the Houston Texans last spring in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick—as well as the rise of other receivers like KaVontae Turpin and fellow former third-round pick Jalen Tolbert ate away at Gallup’s target rate.
Since then, Cooks has developed into CeeDee Lamb’s genuine complement, and tight end Jake Ferguson’s breakthrough in his sophomore season has only made Gallup’s job even harder on a week-to-week basis.
Having been one of the Cowboys’ more explosive receivers in recent seasons and a model professional, mentor, and locker room influence, Gallup was a previous third-round pick in 2018.
In just his second season in the NFL, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark, demonstrating his physical aggression and deep-threat capabilities alongside Amari Cooper, before Lamb was acquired with a first-round pick in 2020.
The three of them were a formidable combination for quarterback Dak Prescott before Cooper was traded in 2022. This allowed Gallup to assume the role of WR2 while Lamb filled the void left by Cooper’s departure as WR1. As a result, the Cowboys gave Gallup a five-year extension even though his previously mentioned torn ACL had only been sustained a few months earlier.
As a two-time All-Mountain West player and a consensus All-American for Colorado State, Gallup came into the league with an undeniable capacity to dominate in the NFL before an injury sidelined him.
Since then, he’s produced a few clutch plays that have changed games, but nothing close to what he was or might be in a situation where a new start may result in an exponential increase in targets that are simply unattainable for him in Dallas.