Is it possible to go back in time to when Michael Gallup was one of the most dynamic playmakers in football? Gallup's highlight montage is right up there with the best receivers in the NFL, but injuries sadly derailed his career and forced him into an early retirement after the 2023 season.
Gallup has since unretired and reunited with Dan Quinn on the rival Commanders. It was a dart-throw signing by Washington, but they need the depth at WR, especially with star Terry McLaurin holding out amid a contract standoff and old friend Noah Brown suffering an injury scare in OTAs.
Unfortunately, history has reared its ugly head with Gallup, who was sidelined in minicamp with a reported hamstring strain.
Former Cowboys star Michael Gallup already dealing with injury on Commanders
Say what you will about Gallup suiting up for the enemy, but this is a devastating development for the former Cowboy. It would be an awesome story if Gallup turned back the clock and carved out a role in Washington's offense.
Unfortunately, injuries have been the story of Gallup's career starting in 2021.
The former third-round gem suffered a calf strain in Week 1 of that season. He was placed on injured reserve and missed seven games. Fast forward to Week 17 and Gallup suffered a torn ACL while making a touchdown grab against the Cardinals. He was never the same player after that. He missed a chunk of the 2022 season and was limited upon returning.
Cowboys fans didn't hold Gallup's lackluster 2022 against him, but 2023 was a different story since he was two years removed from the injury at that point.
He struggled to create separation and ranked 67th out of 77 qualified receivers with 1.08 yards per route run, per PFF (subscription required). He also caught just 7 of 20 contested catch targets, which is a shocking decline for a player that caught around 50 percent of his contested targets in his prime.
Perhaps the biggest indictment of Gallup's decline was Dak Prescott's inefficiency when targeting the Colorado State product. From 2019 to 2021, Gallup had a 101.2 passer rating when targeted, per PFF. That number plummeted to 73.9 spanning the 2022 and '23 seasons.
That ultimately led to his release in March of 2024 and his eventual retirement.
It feels like ages ago that Gallup announced himself as one of the best complimentary wide receivers with 1,107 receiving yards and six touchdowns as a second-year player in 2019.
The hamstring strain won't help Gallup's odds of making the 53-man roster, but it's not like Washington is flush with receiving depth and he is clearly tight with Quinn. Hopefully this is just a minor setback in Gallup's comeback quest.
