Do the Cowboys have enough depth to replace Leighton Vander Esch?
The Cowboys are a football team that likes to re-sign their own. If the price is right, they prefer to reap the rewards of their own development rather than risk the unknown on an outside free agent. The operative words there are “if the price is right.” What seems like the right price to the Dallas front office, isn’t always the right price to the player they seek to re-sign.
Such may be the case with free agent to-be, Leighton Vander Esch.
Vander Esch is arguably coming off his best season in four years. The 27-year-old linebacker played in 14 of 17 regular season games in 2022 and did so at a high level. His 3.2 missed tackle percentage was a career best and his 90 combined tackles were second only to his Pro Bowl rookie season.
After playing on a one-year, $2 million deal last season, Vander Esch is looking to cash in on his successful “prove-it” campaign in 2022. It’s understandable his camp wants to test the market so they can maximize his value in what could very well be the most important off-season of his career.
By the sound of things, negotiations aren’t going well between the Cowboys and Vander Esch and this may not be an issue that gets solved before free agency officially kicks off on March 15.
If Vander Esch does leave Dallas in free agency, do the Cowboys have the pieces to survive?
Vander Esch played 746 snaps for the Cowboys defense in 2022. Even with his three-game absence late in the year, no one took more snaps at off-ball linebacker. Replacing his snaps would be no small feat, especially since fellow linebacker, Anthony Barr, is also set to hit free agency and appears unlikely to return.
That would be 1,355 snaps between the two to replace. It’s safe to say multiple players will be needed to help carry the load left by these potential departures. Luckily for the Cowboys, they have a handful who might be ready for a step forward in their development.
The top candidate to pick up the slack is Damone Clark. The former LSU star linebacker had a surprisingly solid season in Dallas last year. After undergoing spinal fusion surgery in the off-season, many wondered if the rookie would even play in 2022.
Not only did he play, but Clark logged the third-most snaps of the unit and showed enough promise to think the former fifth-round pick could be a starter in 2023.
Joining Clark in the prospect pool of replacements is fellow former LSU linebacker, Jabril Cox.
Cox, a Cowboys fourth-round pick from 2021, has had trouble getting onto the field since joining Dallas. He struggled to return from an ACL injury (suffered late in 2021) and only contributed 221 snaps in 2022 (combined defense and special teams).
Luke Gifford and Devin Harper round out the depth chart at linebacker. The former is a career special teamer and the latter solely had that role as a rookie.
While the needle is pointed up for the two young linebackers from LSU, replacing the snaps of Vander Esch (and likely Barr) are probably too much to responsibly bank on in 2023. The Cowboys will need to add veteran or plug-and-play talent from the draft, or both, to confidently replace their free agent linebackers.
Linebackers are generally considered a replaceable position in the NFL. Cheap alternatives can be found fairly easily if teams stay patient and act opportunistically.
The Cowboys can’t afford to do nothing and just expect their young linebackers to fill the roles of their top linebackers. They’ll need to add new blood to the roster should Vander Esch and Barr churn out. But it’s also no time to panic, they positioned themselves well grooming Clark and Cox in the background, and are in good position to treat this position strategically this off-season.
