Cowboys’ Leighton Vander Esch out for the season and faces battle to play again

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The Cowboys got some bad news on the injury front this week concerning a veteran linebacker.

On October 8, Leighton Vander Esch suffered a severe neck injury in a 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.

Vander Esch will miss the remainder of the 2023 campaign as a result

A first-round Cowboys selection in 2018, he was a Second-team All-Pro that season with 102 solo tackles and a pair of interceptions.

Earlier this week, on 103.9 The Fan, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones discussed how significant this loss is.

“We had just completely left it up to how he was evolving, but of course, it’s such a very significant loss for us,” he said.

“He’s an integral part of that defense out there. We just wish him well, and just the nature of his potential injury here causes me to really think longer term and beyond what it means for next week or beyond what it means for next month. It has everything to do with what’s best in his interest.”

The 27-year-old was eligible to get off the injured reserve list this week but is experiencing lingering problems from that game versus the Niners.

He registered 35 tackles, one for a loss, two quarterback pressures, plus a fumble recovery touchdown in five games this season.

2022 was arguably his best year since his 2018 Pro Bowl campaign, with Vander Esch putting up 90 tackles and a sack in 14 contests.

What it means for the Cowboys’ defense

Damone Clark will likely continue playing in Vander Esch’s spot, with Markquese Bell seeing time in sub packages.

Rashaan Evans, meanwhile, took part in 28 snaps last Sunday, and the Cowboys may add him to their 53-man roster.

The Cowboys rank third in defense, allowing the third-fewest yards per game.

They will battle the 1-8 Carolina Panthers, a team with the third-worst offense in the NFL regarding yards-per-game (275.6).

Will Vander Esch play again?

Sadly, Vander Esch has been plagued with recurring issues on the injury front for numerous years.

He hurt his neck in 2019, missing seven of the Cowboys’ final nine games that year.

A fusion procedure during that offseason allowed him to play 41 of the next 51 games for America’s Team, though more issues came up in between that time.

He missed time in 2020 after breaking his collarbone and hurting his ankle that year.

Neck injuries held him back during the 2021 campaign as well.

In 2022, he sat out of the Cowboys’ final four games with a stinger before featuring in both playoff encounters.

Over his NFL career, Vander Esch has 469 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one defensive touchdown, and three interceptions.

His road to recovery could be long, as he’s rarely been 100% since 2018.

Vander Esch is an agile, athletic defensive player, capable of changing direction quickly, but if his neck can’t fully heal, it’s difficult to imagine he’ll be as dominant as we saw in 2018.

Of course, you hope for the best when you see a man of his talents, but his injury issues could mean the end of his career.