Former Cowboys Wide Receiver Michael Gallup made headlines on Friday. Per his agent, Kevin Robinson, the 29-year-old veteran is going to return to the NFL less than one year after his sudden retirement.
Gallup, a staple of Dallas’ offense for six years, was cut by the team last March.
It came down to money and availability, as the Colorado State product was owed more than the Cowboys could stomach after three consecutive seasons under 500 receiving yards.
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The problem was his health. Gallup tore his ACL in January 2022 and never quite came back from it. It was his fourth right-leg injury since 2019, after tearing his meniscus and straining his hip and calf in the previous seasons.
Make no mistake about it: the Cowboys did not cut Gallup because they didn’t like him; they did. It was a health and money problem.
So, if those two issues were taken care of, would they be interested in a 2025 reunion?
The Why: Michael Gallup Is Needed
No matter what you may think about Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, or Jonathan Mingo, you must admit the Cowboys need to improve at wide receiver.
CeeDee Lamb needs some help, and Dak Prescott needs better weapons.
Dallas will have a chance to take a wide receiver early in the 2025 NFL Draft, but bringing back Gallup in addition would provide things that a rookie can’t: familiarity and chemistry with the quarterback.
Michael Gallup has played 86 as a Dallas Cowboy, and while he’s been away from the game for a year, the system and personnel in place haven’t changed much.
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If Gallup’s sabbatical helped his body heal in a way it wasn’t able to before, we could see a resurgence in his ability. That doesn’t mean Dallas should rely on him, but he could be more than serviceable if his health is right.
The worst-case scenario is he can’t get back into playing shape, and he gets to be a critically important veteran to an otherwise young wide receiver room.
Simply put, the Cowboys could use Gallup, even if he can’t be his 2019 self.
The How: Gallup’s Minimal Financial Cost
If you’re going to talk about a Cowboys free-agent target, you also have to talk about money.
Dallas has gained a reputation in recent years for their lackluster free agent classes, largely due to “financial constraints.”
Yes, the Cowboys are paying a few big-money contracts, but the salary cap itself can be easily manipulated; they just don’t do a great job of doing that. Luckily for Dallas, signing Gallup would do little to damage their frugal identity.
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At 29 years old, with his last 1,000 receiving yard season coming over half a decade ago, Michael Gallup would cost close to nothing this season.
It would surprise me if he got much more than the veteran’s minimum, as his health, production, and age remain a significant question. After all, he quite literally retired from the NFL.
Teams will have that fact close in mind when negotiating a deal, so it’s likely he won’t be getting much of a payday in his return.
For the Cowboys, that fact could allow them to bring Gallup home.
The Bottom Line: Homecoming Could Happen
If you don’t think the Cowboys’ front office will take a hard look at a low-cost, familiar face in a position of need, you just don’t know the Cowboys’ front office well enough.
This is the exact kind of move they love to make. They did it just last year with Ezekiel Elliott.
Ideally, bringing Michael Gallup back would prove to be more successful than that experiment was, but if his role is limited enough, there isn’t nearly as much risk as there was with the “Zeke reunion.”
Dallas could get a whole lot worse than Gallup as their WR4 after drafting a prominent rookie and sliding Tolbert down one spot in the depth chart.
This is the kind of move that could bolster the wide receiving corps for little money and risk.