Former Cowboys' Retirement Leaves Fans Craving What Could Have Been

On Tuesday evening it was reported that former Cowboy wide receiver Michael Gallup would be retiring from the NFL effective immediately. Gallup who turned 28 this past March spent the first five years of his career playing in Dallas before signing a one-year deal with the Los Vegas Raiders this past April.

During Gallups's time in Dallas, he was seen as an effective and reliable No.2 receiver for the Cowboys and was frequently viewed as one of the more underrated receivers in the league during his prime. Gallup was quickly able to become a prominent member of the Cowboys offense becoming a reliable target for Dak and during the 2019 and 2020 seasons gaining over 1900 receiving yards along with 11 touchdowns throughout those two seasons.

His success was somewhat short-lived however due to a multitude of serious injuries he suffered from including a calf injury that kept him sidelined for the majority of the 2021 season and later on a torn ACL that he seemed to never recover from. 

After returning from injuries Gallup was never the same player he once was and during his final two seasons in Dallas, he was a shell of his former self only able to gain 842 and 6 touchdowns through two seasons. Gallup was also overshadowed by the emergence of star receiver CeeDee Lamb along with veteran receiver Brandin Cooks who was signed by the team prior to the 2023 season.

After two years of underwhelming play from Gallup, the Cowboys front office decided to cut bait and released Gallup this past March. Gallup was later signed by the Los Vegas Raiders as the team was hoping he could potentially be the No.3 receiver on the team. Gallup decided otherwise and announced his retirement before Raiders training camp would begin. 

Overall it is disappointing to see how Gallups career comes to an end. He was at one point on the trajectory to be one of the best No.2 receivers in the league but was given several bad breaks that reduced his ability and forced fans to wonder how good Gallup could have been for the Cowboys if he was able to stay healthy.  

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