Report: Cowboys preparing to part ways with WR Michael Gallup

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked at the NFL Combine what the team’s plans were regarding wide receiver Michael Gallup’s future. Before the start of the new league year, it looks like the team might have given its answer.

According to Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News, Dallas has given Gallup’s agent, Kevin Robinson, permission to seek a trade.

This decision is likely based on Gallup’s contract. If he is on the roster after March 16th, it will guarantee $4 million of his $8.5 million base salary for the 2024 season. Given his production over the previous two seasons, the ends might not have been enough to justify the means.

After suffering a season-ending ACL tear in 2021, the Cowboys signed the then-pending free agent Gallup to a five-year, $57.5 million contract. The front office has taken chances on players returning from severe injuries in the past, hoping to get them at a favorable rate. They did it with Dak Prescott after his ankle injury and Barry Church with his Achilles tear.

However, Gallup could not return to the player he was in 2019, where he had over 1,000 yards receiving. Since signing the contract, Gallup has had 73 receptions, 842 receiving yards, and six touchdowns.

Of course, if a team were to trade for Gallup, they would take on the final three years of the deal he signed with Dallas. Watkins reports that his market could be limited, considering teams feel he’ll be released ahead of March 17th regardless.

Trading Gallup before then would have the trading team pick up the remaining three years of his contract.

Teams have been reluctant to make a deal for Gallup, fearing he’s going to be released.

If Dallas can not find a partner to trade with, they could designate Gallup as a post-June 1 release, as they would save the most money towards the 2024 salary cap of $9.5 million. The Cowboys could be looking to get an extension done with their franchise quarterback, so having money after June 1 could signal the reported August timeline for a Prescott extension would line up.

If the team wants to allow Gallup the chance to maximize his market, they could release him ahead of Monday’s legal tampering period instead of waiting for a trade before his guarantee kicks in.

Gallup’s absence from the roster would mean a more prominent for Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, and potentially seventh-rounder Jalen Brooks, who flashed at times last season. They could also draft another talented wideout in what’s considered a deep wide receiver class.