Cowboys release linebacker Vander Esch, receiver Gallup
FRISCO, TEXAS » The Dallas Cowboys released linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and receiver Michael Gallup on Friday, cutting ties with two of their top three picks from the 2018 draft.
Vander Esch was released with a failed physical designation after missing 12 games with a neck injury in 2023. The injury was the fourth since 2019 involving the 28-year-old’s neck and was considered career-threatening.
After the first neck injury in 2019, Vander Esch was diagnosed with a narrow spinal column and underwent fusion surgery. The latest injury happened when he was pushed from behind in Week 5 against San Francisco last year and jammed his neck into teammate Micah Parsons’ right leg.
The Cowboys signed his replacement Friday in linebacker Eric Kendricks, who initially chose San Francisco in free agency before changing his mind. The 32-year-old will be reunited with new Dallas defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who was Kendricks’ head coach in Minnesota for his first seven NFL seasons.
The move on Gallup was a cost-cutter for Dallas, just two years into the five-year contract he signed not long after tearing an ACL late in the 2021 season.
Browns hire Vrabel as analyst
CLEVELAND » Mike Vrabel will be working in the NFL after all this fall.
The former Tennessee Titans head coach, fired in January after consecutive losing seasons, landed as an analyst and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns on Friday.
The 48-year-old Vrabel, an Akron native and an Ohio State graduate, developed a solid relationship with Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry in recent years. Vrabel even helped them scout players two weeks ago at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
Source: Ex-Jets CB Hall to Bucs
TAMPA, FLA. » Free agent cornerback Bryce Hall and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have agreed to a one-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract with the fifth-year pro had not been finalized.
Hall, 26, spent the first four years of his career with the New York Jets, starting 26 of 39 games he appeared in with the team that selected him in the fifth round of the 2020 draft.