Honoring one of the good guys: Top 10 plays from Michael Gallup’s time with the Cowboys

Michael Gallup’s time in Dallas has come to an end, but his amazing circus plays will never be forgotten.

The Dallas Cowboys officially released Michael Gallup on Friday in a move we all saw coming. After being selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft, Gallup made an immediate impact, stringing together three good seasons to start his career. He finished his second year with 66 catches, 1,107 yards, and six touchdowns when he was the Robin to Amari Cooper’s Batman. Unfortunately, Gallup suffered a knee injury in the penultimate regular-season game in 2021 and has never been the same since. He hasn’t eclipsed 450 yards receiving in any of the last three seasons. Over his career in Dallas, Gallup has a total of 266 catches, 3,744 yards, and 21 touchdowns during 86 games, but it’s been a tale of two stories for the former Cowboys receiver.

• Gallup’s first three seasons = 2,457 yards
• Gallup’s last three seasons = 1,287 yards

The release of Gallup was expected and something we went over last month as we prepared for the Cowboys’ offseason moves. The Cowboys still have to account for $13 million of his salary that results from his signing bonus and restructure, but none of this base salary over the next three years is guaranteed, so the team can get out of the remaining $32.5 million that he would have been paid had he played out his contract in Dallas. The financials now look like this…

• Initial deal = Five years, $57.5 million ($11.5 million annually)
• Actual deal = Two years, $25 million ($12.5 million annually)

The idea of paying Gallup $12 million per year seemed like a bargain when we think about what the Gallup of old gave the team, but clearly, something has changed for him. Now, his cost just isn’t worth the cap space.

The Cowboys needed to decide on this quickly because on March 18th $4 million of his $8.5 million 2024 base salary would have been guaranteed and would result in even more dead money had the Cowboys released him later this year. Additionally, cutting him loose now allows him to hit the open market while teams still have some cash, giving him a chance to find a decent deal.

While his release won’t upset many fans, it’s still hard to see one of the good guys leave. Gallup is a great person and is always spoken highly about by his teammates. He leaves with the respect of many, but also with a nice collection of highlights while wearing the star. Let’s take a moment to appreciate what he has done over his time with the Cowboys.