3 Cowboys playing their way off the roster in 2023

One of the only negatives to drafting well is how hard it becomes to keep everyone on the same roster. That’s going to become true for the Dallas Cowboys, who have been making several great selections in the NFL Draft for years now.

They’re already cap-strapped thanks to having to re-sign a few players from their impressive 2016 class. Now, they have more talented players set to hit the open market, and Dallas might have no choice but to let them walk.

Here, we look at three players who have done well enough to make it hard for Dallas to afford them.

3 Cowboys playing their way off the roster in 2023

3. Leighton Vander Esch, Linebacker

Despite drawing interest from two AFC teams, Leighton Vander Esch returned to the Cowboys on a one-year deal ahead of the 2022 season. When he was re-signed, he said he felt his best football was ahead of him and expressed his excitement to work with Dan Quinn for another year.

He’s far from the first player to make such a claim, but with LVE, he’s been proving himself correct. A star as a rookie in 2018, Vander Esch struggled through the next three seasons, but has made a comeback this year.

According to Pro Football Focus, Vander Esch has 76 tackles and one sack through the first 13 weeks and is the 25th-best linebacker in the NFL. That’s a far cry from what we saw in 2020 and 2021.

Of course, that desire to play for Quinn might be enough to get him to return again in 2023. But that might not be the case, as he could demand more on the open market than what Dallas can pay right now.

2. Dalton Schultz, Tight End

In 2020, Dalton Schultz came out of nowhere to become a star for the Cowboys. Filling in for an injured Blake Jarwin, Schultz recorded 63 receptions for 615 yards and four touchdowns. He followed up that campaign with an even more impressive 808 yards on 78 receptions with eight touchdowns a year ago.

After proving himself two years in a row, the former Stanford Cardinal was ready to get paid. The Cowboys, however, were not prepared to fork out a long-term deal. Instead, they hit him with the franchise tag and continued to negotiate. In the end, the two sides never came to an agreement before the July deadline and he played on the $10.9 million tag.

While he did miss time due to a knee injury, Schultz has still put together another strong campaign thus far. He continues to be a safety valve for Dak Prescott, and had his best game on Thanksgiving, when he hauled in two touchdowns.

Despite continually proving himself, Schultz could be on his way out in the offseason. Not only did Dallas balk at a long-term deal this summer, but they also added Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot in the offseason.

Each rookie is playing well, and the front office will likely turn to them, since that $10.9 million tag will be the floor where Schultz and his team start negotiations.

1. Tony Pollard, Running Back

Tony Pollard has been nothing short of electric this season. He’s already set career highs with 852 yards rushing and eight touchdowns on the ground. He’s added 25 receptions for 259 yards and two more touchdowns.

If that wasn’t enough, he also set a franchise record when he scored his fifth touchdown of 30 yards or more in Week 13. And this is all with five games left for him to play.

Dallas fans have been clamoring for Pollard to get more touches, and his boosters feel vindicated at the moment, considering how dominant he’s been this season. And while the front office kept fighting to say Ezekiel Elliott was the star, the coaching staff has found a way to keep both players happy. The offense is better because of it.

The one problem in all of this is the fact that Pollard is in the final year of his rookie deal.

With Elliott already signed to a ridiculously long extension, the Cowboys don’t have the money to retain Pollard. They can, and should, but would have to get creative. There’s an out in Elliott’s contract in 2023, but they will have to eat some dead money in the process.

Considering the affinity Jerry and Stephen Jones have for Elliott, they might not be willing to make this move. If not, Pollard will be the biggest star to play himself out of town in recent memory.

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