There's an obvious problem with making Michael Gallup a priority in free agency
There's no denying that the Dallas Cowboys had one of the more talented receiving corps in the NFL last year. The receiver room could look much differently in 2021, however. Michael Gallup is currently a free agent and there is heavy speculation that Amari Cooper could soon become a cap casualty. If both players leave […]
There's no denying that the Dallas Cowboys had one of the more talented receiving corps in the NFL last year.
The receiver room could look much differently in 2021, however. Michael Gallup is currently a free agent and there is heavy speculation that Amari Cooper could soon become a cap casualty. If both players leave then CeeDee Lamb will be the last of the top-3 targets remaining.
But there may be good news on the horizon. According to Sports Illustrated's Mike Fisher, the Cowboys have made re-signing Gallup a priority in 2021.
There's just one problem with that: Gallup tore his ACL in Week 17 of the 2021 season and didn't have surgery until 10 days ago on February 10.
The typical recovery time is 8-12 months when dealing with a torn ACL. NFL players obviously have access to some of the best treatment available to humanity, but even then it's tough to gauge when players will return to their old selves.
Take Bud Dupree, for example. He tore his ACL against the Ravens during a December matchup in 2020 and it took him the entire 2021 season to regain his form. And even then, he wasn't the Bud Dupree that we saw over the prior years in Pittsburgh. The Titans made him a priority in free agency, signing him to a 5-year, $82.5 million deal and I think it's safe to say that they didn't get much of a ROI on Dupree in Year One.
Spotrac.com currently has Gallup's free agency market value at $11.8 million per year, on average. Pro Football Focus has him at $12.5 million per year. That's a pretty penny for a player who may not be very effective in 2022. Gallup himself acknowledged in a recent interview with Heavy.com that he'd be OK with taking a prove-it deal in 2022.
What complicates things is PFF's Doug Kyed's recent report that Gallup is expected to be at 100% by the start of training camp. Well, Dupree said the same thing last year and we saw how that turned out.
I'm not trying to be anecdotal, here. Instead, I'm using the most recent example that aligns closest with the provided context.
But it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what the Cowboys think. Will they buy into the idea that Gallup will be ready for camp and therefore ink him to a big deal? Will they take it slow and give him a one-year, prove-it deal?
And then there's Cooper, who is still on the roster. Yes, he isn't cheap, but there are ways around that. There's also Lamb, who finished 2021 with 79 receptions for 1,102 yards and six touchdowns. Both players are more than capable of carrying the load. At the same time, it was hard to miss Gallup's effect on the game as he sat on the sideline.
No matter what happens, I think we can all agree that we hope Gallup's recovery goes as well as possible. But when it comes to making Gallup a priority in free agency, the Cowboys may want to hold off on that. Even if there's isn't a ton of time to wait and see how things go.
Featured image via-Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
