When the Dallas Cowboys declined to pick up Leighton Vander Esch’s fifth-year option, which would have guaranteed him $9.1 million in 2022, it effectively put a target on the back of the seemingly oft-injured linebacker and raised questions about his future with the team..
Vander Esch has gone from being the Cowboys’ first-round draft pick in 2018 — a season in which he made the Pro Bowl — and a player heralded to be the team’s next great linebacker to having a murky status in that he’ll be playing his fourth and final year of his contract without knowing where he may be beyond 2021.
“That was fully their decision,” Vander Esch said. “I didn’t have any control over it. It’s what they wanted to do and it is what it is.”
Only two of the first 20 picks from 2018 didn’t get their fifth-year option picked up: Vander Esch and former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen. The latter is a qualified bust and on his fourth team. The former is trying to avoid that label.
But he is not using the perceived Cowboys’ slight as fuel to improve his performance.
“I have always been motivated,” Vander Esch said. “I don’t have to use that to be motivated to play better or work harder. I’m just controlling what I can control and the rest will take care of itself.”
Vander Esch has a great relationship with the Cowboys. Vice president Stephen Jones said the future is not over for him in Dallas and they would like to keep him beyond 2021.
But the onus is Vander Esch to make it happen, to the degree that one’s health can be controlled. Over the last two seasons, the linebacker missed 13 games due to neck and ankle injuries.
He said he has been on a mission since the end of last season to get healthy and have his best season in 2021.
“I feel great. Best shape I feel that I’ve been in,” Vander Esch said. “I was here all offseason: training, lifting, running and doing all of that. Just trying to get better and put myself in position to be successful this year. Not that I didn’t in past years, but it was just a bad chain of luck for a little bit, so I’m just trying to do everything I can and control everything I can control and go out there and have a great season.”
He has caught the eye of new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who says he has the look of a player on a mission. “I have been really impressed with Leighton,” Quinn said.
A healthy Vander Esch is already showing glimpses of past greatness. He had a diving interception in practice on Thursday, although he got the wind knocked out him after the play, which caused a brief scare among Cowboys personnel. But he quickly returned to practice and tackled running back Tony Pollard for a loss on a short-down situation.
“I think I’m probably going to get hurt more if I’m not playing hard, so if the ball is in the air, I’m going to go get it,” Vander Esch said. “If the ball is on the ground, I’m going to go get it. You’re going to get the most out of me every snap, so I’m not here to use injuries as an excuse to play half-ass.”
The thing Vander Esch is most excited about is a return to weakside linebacker in Quinn’s new scheme and a role similar to what he played his first two seasons.
He was moved to middle linebacker by the fired Mike Nolan last season and it proved disastrous for Vander Esch and the Cowboys defense, which gave up more points than any unit in franchise history and allowed the second-most yards ever.
Vander Esch missed six games in 2020, and he didn’t receive good marks when he was on the field. He earned a disappointing grade of 50.6 by Pro Football Focus. His defensive grade as a rookie was 85.7.
“I’m pretty much going back to my old role from the first two years, which I think is what it should have been last year,” Vander Esch said. “I think it’s going to be a lot more familiar to what we were used to doing, which is running and hitting and making plays and having fun.”