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FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch has a massive decision to make about his football future following his second season-ending neck injury. He suffered the injury during the team’s 42-10 loss at the San Francisco on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 5, and it has continued to linger, which is why the Cowboys are shutting him down for the rest of the 2023 season.
He underwent a fusion procedure after being knocked out of the final nine games of the 2019 season because of a neck injury. Vander Esch also fractured his collarbone in the 2020 season. His neck injuries date to his college years at Boise State when he missed time in 2016 with a pinched nerve in 2016. Dallas still chose him 19th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Vander Esch earned his lone Pro Bowl selection as a rookie. Now, the Cowboys are doing their best to support Vander Esch as he mulls over the possibility of retiring and prioritizing his long-term health over staying in the NFL.
“We’ve had a couple conversations,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday. “He’s still obviously processing it, but the most important thing from the football staff and the locker room is to have him here [to support him]. This is not just a conversation or one talk. I think the biggest thing is to give him the time and space to sort through this. This isn’t the first time he has been through it, he has a history of it. What’s in front of him personally. All of those things factor. I definitely want him to be part of this moving forward.”
“It’s tough, Leighton is a huge, not only on this defense, but on the team,” Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse said. “Just to see a guy that puts so much into it, trying to help us succeed as well as him succeeding, it’s tough to lose a guy and a teammate like that. We’re all putting our hands around Leighton, and Leighton is a strong guy. He doesn’t show it a lot, but we’re…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/cowboys-keep-hands-around-leighton-vander-esch-following-linebackers-potential-career-ending-neck-injury/
Author : Garrett Podell
Publish date : 2023-11-16 00:04:31
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