Former Cowboys wide receiver hangs up his cleats

Once NFL training camps are concluded and rosters become final, 1,696 players are officially members of one of the 32 NFL teams. The turnover from season to season is incredible, and when you mix in free agency and the draft for each offseason, that turnover is multiplied tenfold.

Make no mistake. It is extremely difficult to have a long career in the NFL. The average length of a career for an NFL player is a mere three years, and each season has a long list of players who have decided to retire.

You can add another former Dallas Cowboys player to that list today.

As first reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, current member of the Las Vegas Raiders and former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup has decided to hang up his cleats for good.

At just 28 years old, this news is surprising to hear. Especially because Gallup appeared well on his way to returning to his pre-injury form, collecting all six of his targets for 103 yards in the playoff loss versus Green Bay.

Despite the early retirement, Michael Gallup still exceeded the NFL average, and that’s a great accomplishment in itself.

Michael Gallup’s Football Career

Michael Gallup was a 3rd round pick (81st overall) by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2018 NFL Draft from Colorado State University.

College Ball

The collegiate Ram actually started college at Butler Community College to improve his grades. He didn’t transfer to Colorado State until his junior season.

Once he arrived there, he showed the talent and production that would eventually earn him a finalist nomination for the Fred Biletnikoff award during his senior season.

In 26 games across two seasons, Gallup recorded 176 receptions for 2,690 yards and 21 touchdowns, earning himself an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

Dallas Cowboys

Once he arrived in Dallas, he was immediately tasked with replacing the production of the departed Dez Bryant. It was an unfair task to ask a rookie.

The offense suffered because of it, eventually trading away a 1st round pick to Oakland (Las Vegas) in exchange for WR Amari Cooper. Being thrown into the fire seemed to accelerate Gallup’s development, however.

In seven games prior to Cooper’s arrival, Michael Gallup had a total of 10 receptions for 190 yards.

In eight games after Cooper’s arrival, Gallup’s numbers improved to 23 receptions for 317 yards.

He played his best game of his young career in a Divisional round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, catching six passes for 119 yards.

The best season of his career would end up being his sophomore campaign.

On 113 targets, he caught 66 passes for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns in just 14 games.

An ACL injury suffered late in a promising 2021 season derailed Michael Gallup’s career, and he would never return to form. Despite the injury, the Cowboys banked on his recovery, inking him to a new contract shortly after trading away Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns.

Gallup never lived up to that contract, eventually leading to his release at the end of the 2023 season as a designated post-June 1st release.

In Gallup’s last three seasons, he averaged a meager 36 receptions for 429 yards and caught eight total touchdowns.

MG, The Toe Tap Magician

One of the things that Cowboys Nation will always remember (and be grateful for) about Michael Gallup is his ability to maneuver the sideline like a circus performer riding a unicycle on a tight rope.

If sideline awareness was an attribute in my son’s Madden game, Michael Gallup would be rated a perfect 100. Countless times, he made a play on the boundary that fired up the crowd in the stands with its level of difficulty.

Gallup finished his career with 266 receptions for 3,744 yards and 21 total touchdowns.