Leighton Vander Esch has retired from football at just 28 years old. This untimely end to his playing career can’t help but make Cowboys fans think of Sean Lee, Jaylon Smith, and other linebackers who saw their time cut short, or at least significantly hampered, by medical issues. It’s an unfortunate reality of the game but with an excessive degree of occurrence in Dallas.
Though he was already released last week to get a jump on the salary cap space, Vander Esch’s unsurprising retirement was likely why that happened. There was talk that the neck issues which cost him 12 games in 2023, and have been plaguing his career since 2019, could now be career-threatening.