Dallas will miss a key defensive leader but support him and think next.
Texas’ Frisco After his second season-ending neck ιnjury, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch must decide his football future. He was injured during the Cowboys’ 42-10 loss in San Francisco on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 5, and it has persisted, therefore the Cowboys are shelving him for the rest of 2023.
After missing the final nine games of the 2019 season due to a neck ιnjury, he had a fusion. The 2020 season saw Vander Esch break his collarbone. A pinched nerve in 2016 sidelined him at Boise State. The 2018 NFL Draft saw Dallas pick him 19th overall. Vander Esch made his only Pro Bowl as a rookie. Now, the Cowboys are trying to help Vander Esch decide whether to retire and prioritize his health over the NFL.
“We’ve had a couple conversations,” cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday. “He’s still absorbing it, but the football staff and locker room want him here to support him most. Not a one-time chat. I think giving him time and space to ponder is most important. He’s been through it before. What’s before him. All those things matter. I want him involved going ahead.”
“It’s tough, Leighton is a huge, not only on this defense, but on the team,” Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse said. “Losing a guy and teammate who works so hard to help us and him thrive is hard. We’re all holding Leighton, who’s strong. He doesn’t show it, but we’re keeping our hands around him and letting him know you care.”
Vander Esch’s decision may have been influenced by his child with Maddy, Kearse said.
Kearse answered, “Definitely,” when asked if Vander Esch’s ιnjury made him consider his football mortality. “Fathers, brothers, sons. Playing this sport is a minor part of our lives. We’ve been doing it for so long, but you must realize that you’ll spend many more years not playing football. I have kids. Pregnant Leighton. There are several factors to consider when it comes to him. Young people sаy a lot, but as they become older, they realize that this work and what we have outside of it can’t be replicated or bought. Family and such. This significant ιnjury and his current ιnjury circumstances require you to consider those implications when making selections.
It’s difficult, but I’m not dealing with it. To deal with something that big, I can’t comprehend his feelings and thoughts. In this building, we can just hug him and show him we support him. That we support him.”
Markquese Bell and the next-man-up mentality
The Cowboys have had linebacker injuries since 2023 third-round selection DeMarvion Overshown tore his ACL in training camp. Since that ιnjury in camp, second-year, undrafted Florida A&M safety Markquese Bell has played the most linebacker snaps in his place. With an 86.4 defensive grade on Pro Football Focus, Bell is the eighth-best NFL linebacker. He ranks seventh in league coverage with 87.8 PFF.
“Extremely proud of Markquese,” Kearse stated. He came in, was ready to work, and you told him, ‘You’re going to work with the linebackers.’ To go out there and perform like he is, it’s incredible. His best game is yet to come. I’m curious to see his final product. Coverage, run fits, tackling, ball plays. All those things will come as he gets more comfortable as a linebacker.”
Only second-year linebacker Damone Clark, a 2022 fifth-round pick from LSU, has more tackles than him with 43.
“They’ve done a really good job, I think you have to be impressed,” McCarthy said of this season’s rookie linebackers. “When changes are made in-season, guys stand up and are very productive. Their manufacturing is distinctive, but we dealt with it throughout training camp. I assume the staff prepared the guys for sub-packages, different fronts, etc. Seasons go like this. Some jobs are more stressful than others. Many things are still being resolved.”
“That’s my guy, me and Damone we came in together last year,” added Bell. “We’re learning and teaching each other. He can tell me, ‘alright, this is what the front is doing.’ I was a safety, so I’m telling him things the back end might notice. Giving each other game helps us improve.”
Bell and Clark credit Vander Esch’s leadership for their promotion.
“Leighton is a great mentor, great leader to this team,” he remarked. “His decline is tragic, but we adore and pray for him. Like another coach, he’s on the sideline with us. He was always that, but he’s helping me become a linebacker. The man is fantastic. Quite difficult. He leads. A major loss. Communication was his forte. He always got everyone, especially myself, where they needed to be.”
“He has been in meetings with us, we have a group message, he always texts us whenever he can be there,” he said. “He’s there. His presence on the field is irrelevant. Leighton still coaches us on the sideline and tells us what he sees.”
Bell and Clark are taught to play ball and release their thoughts by Vander Esch.
Bell said, “‘Just play fast, and I’m going to make you right,'” when offered Vander Esch’s best advise. That’s what I’ve done. A family. We’re young and will make mistakes. As long as you play fast, you trust your intuition and God’s gift. You can’t go wrong now that you’re committed.”
Everyone in the Cowboys locker room would understand if Vander Esch retired. Life is long.
“We talked to him when he first got hurt earlier in the year about just the decisions with football and life, just kind of reflecting on your perspective and how hard those decisions are to make,” said Clark. Football is sometimes all you know if you’ve played it your whole life. I value life and football, but your health is more essential. I want to leave on my own. I don’t want to leave hurt. It’s unfortunate what happened with Leighton, but Leighton is a strong guy. Leighton is still here with us, he’s just not on the field with us knowing him as you do.
“He’s a warrior when he goes out there, but you’ve got to value the big picture. It’s tough, especially that he had these injuries before. It’s hard he’s missing the rest of the season. That would be hard оn anybody. Yeah, for me I saw walking away on your own two feet is way more important. That’s Leighton’s decision that he has to make.”
The Cowboys have the fourth-best scoring defense in the NFL in 2023, allowing only 18.3 points per game, despite losing Vander Esch in Week 5 and two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs ahead of their Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals when he tore his ACL in practice. Second-year, 2022 fifth-round pick cornerback DaRon Bland’s five interceptions are the second-most in the NFL, including a league-leading three pick-sixes (a Cowboys single-season record), and he also leads the NFL with the lowest passer rating against this season, minimum 25 pass attempts against with 17.5 rating. That has defensive coordinator Dan Quinn fired up and proud that his young, former backups have shined by “honoring” Vander Esch and Diggs.
“The ability to take the ball away it’s hard to minimize or even maximize that for guys who can do that specific trait on the outside and get the ball,” Quinn said Monday. “Tre and DaRon both have that skill about them. When you have that, that’s one of the unique things about them. They have this innate ability to find the ball in traffic and come down with it. Those are the things that make them special. We certainly miss Tre not being here but knowing the torch is passed for this season, just for this season, I think DaRon has gladly taken that. We talk about Tre a lot. Same with Leighton. I couldn’t be more pumped for guys who step up into those spaces. It’s a great way to honor them with how they play.”
