Getty Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
In a matter of a few (injury-marred) seasons, Leighton Vander Esch has gone from a building block to the weakest link on the Dallas Cowboys defense. Will he go from slowly phased out in 2021 to no longer employed by the organization in 2022?
That is the expectation of Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski, who identified the veteran linebacker as the one starter Dallas must replace next year, completing a path similar to that of former teammate Jaylon Smith.
“Leighton Vander Esch is likely the next to go,” Sobleski wrote, citing Smith’s October release from the Cowboys. “The 2018 first-round pick looked like a star-in-the-making when he tallied 140 total tackles as a rookie and earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro nods.
“The linebacker required surgery to fix a nerve issue in his neck. Vander Esch hasn’t been the same player since, whether that’s because of the injury or not. He’s still a solid starting option. He’s just not one of the league’s best young linebackers anymore. Plus, the 25-year-old defender is a free agent after this season.”
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LVE’s Probable Replacement
Leading the way in the Cowboys’ linebacking corps is rookie sensation Micah Parsons, a shoo-in for Defensive Rookie of the Year and candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. Flanking inside-linebacker-Parsons is ex-Falcon Keanu Neal, who’s helped the team guard running backs and tight ends.
Then there’s Vander Esch, who has 35 solo tackles and one sack across 467 defensive snaps, largely reduced to an early-down contributor under coordinator Dan Quinn. He flashes the LVE talent of old as often as he’s outmatched by the opposition. The Cowboys hedged against Vander Esch’s departure, spending a fourth-round draft pick on ILB Jabril Cox, whose star was rising prior to torn ACL that cut short his inaugural campaign.
Common logic dictates that Dallas will re-sign either Vander Esch or Neal — both pending unrestricted free agents — and grant Cox, health willing, first dibs at a starting job in 2022.
“The Cowboys would be better off re-signing Keanu Neal this offseason and letting Jabril Cox take over as a starter when he returns from a torn ACL, while letting Micah Parsons roam as a hybrid linebacker/edge defender,” opined Sobleski.
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Arians Attempts to Halt Parsons Hype
The league is bearing witness to utter dominance by Parsons, the No. 12 choice in last April’s draft, who’s notched 27 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, three forced fumbles and two pass deflections, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ top-rated LB out of 83 qualifiers.
Parsons has drawn lofty comparisons ranging from Cowboys franchise legend DeMarcus Ware, whose rookie sack record was broken by Parsons, to arguably the greatest linebacker to ever do it, Hall-of-Famer Lawrence Taylor.
The latter likening evidently rubbed Bruce Arians the wrong way. And during a recent appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, the grizzled Buccaneers coach pumped the brakes on Parsons’ moon-shotting stock.
“He’s started to have a heck of a career. But when you’re talking about the best defensive player in the history of this league, slow down a little bit,” Arians said, via the Dan Patrick Show’s Andrew Perloff.