Longtime Dallas Cowboys Standout WR Finds New Home

Michael Gallup’s decision to join the Las Vegas Raiders will mark the first time in his career that he has put on a jersey that does not belong to the Dallas Cowboys.

Gallup was selected by the Cowboys with the No. 81 overall pick in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Since then, Gallup has put in consistent work with the Cowboys. He has only had one season in which he did not play at least 14 games. He missed time in just three of his six NFL seasons.

Gallup was a standout receiver for the Colorado State Rams before he was selected by the Cowboys. In the two years he produced for the Rams, his junior and senior year, he had 1,272 yards receiving and 1,418 yards receiving, respectively.

Gallup amassed 21 receiving touchdowns during his time at Colorado State and his play for the Rams was good enough to get him drafted despite not playing against Power-Five competition.

Michael Gallup has been consistent in his role for the Dallas Cowboys

Gallup hasn’t been asked to shoulder the main load for the Cowboys since joining the team in 2018. He has only had two seasons in which he was targeted over 100 times.

In those two seasons, 2019 and 2020, Gallup had 1,107 yards receiving and 843 yards receiving, respectively. Gallup stepped up big for the Cowboys in those two seasons, which were the most productive of his career.

Outside of those two seasons, Gallup has only eclipsed the 500-yard receiving mark once, but he has never had less than 400 yards receiving. Gallup has 21 total touchdowns as a receiver in the NFL and his ability to be a safety blanket will work well with the Las Vegas Raiders who just lost their safety blanket in Hunter Renfrow.

The Cowboys gave Gallup permission to seek a trade earlier in the offseason and ended up releasing him, allowing him to sign with the Raiders. Head coach Mike McCarthy showed confidence in Gallup late in the season when he told the media the Cowboys needed to improve on ball distribution in an article from Cowboys Wire.

“One of the biggest things I tried to emphasis again today is we got to get our ball distribution up,” McCarthy said. “It’s not where it needs to be the last three weeks.”

NFL fans have mixed reactions about the Las Vegas Raiders’ signing of former Dallas Cowboys WR Michael Gallup

The reactions following the news of Gallup finding a new home are increasingly mixed among NFL fans. Some think the Raiders got a steal by acquiring Gallup for just $3 million.

Others think this move shows that Dallas and owner Jerry Jones failed by thinking they could replace former Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper with Gallup. Regardless, most fans agree that Gallup is a solid NFL wide receiver when he’s healthy.