Of the many challenges ahead for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2024 offseason, the one that dominates them all is creating cap space. The Cowboys need to work out deals for stars Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, among others, and we can quibble about which is more important in the long term. But none of that matters much if the cap can’t be cut in the short-term. And the Cowboys Michael Gallup is the best means of doing so.
There are some obvious candidates for an exit to help make that happen. But the most obvious, and the one who has been most discussed throughout the season, is wide receiver Gallup, who has never lived up to the five-year, $57.5 million contract he signed in 2021. The Cowboys could cut him after June 1 and save $9.5 million, but they’d still be on the hook for part of Gallup’s salary.
A trade gives them a cleaner break, and Bleacher Report is suggesting one that would cost a significant draft asset but allow the Cowboys to at least take a chance on a young guy to replace Gallup. In the deal B/R is proposing, the Cowboys would send Gallup and a third-round pick to the Titans for Treylon Burks, the 2022 first-rounder who has struggled to catch on in Tennessee.
Cowboys Michael Gallup Likely Done in Dallas
It is almost a certainty that Gallup has played his last game in Dallas. If that is the case, then at least it could be said that he had his most productive game in his finale, when he caught six passes for 103 yards in the playoff loss to Green Bay. That’s the only 100-yard game of Gallup’s 2023 season, and his first since 2021.
This is Gallup’s sixth season in Dallas, and it was his least productive. He averaged just 24.6 yards per game, the fifth straight season that number has declined.
With that in mind, here’s the specifics of B/R’s trade to the Titans:
“Hypothetical Trade We’d Love to See: WR Michael Gallup, 2025 third-round pick for WR Treylon Burks
“In this hypothetical scenario, the Cowboys would deal with the Tennessee Titans, a team that is short on receiver depth and long on cap space ($74 million). … In this scenario, Dallas would pair Gallup with a future third-round pick to land Titans receiver Treylon Burks, who has struggled to live up to his draft status in Tennessee.
“Burks has flashed some downfield ability, and swapping out a pricey veteran contract for a rookie deal would be a win for the Cowboys.”
3rd-Round Pick Worth Clearing Gallup’s Money?
What this amounts to for the Cowboys is giving away a third-round pick in next season’s draft to get off of Gallup’s money.
Burks is a longshot to pan out, having caught just 49 passes for 665 yards in the last two seasons, appearing in just 15 games. He earned a grade of 52.4 at Pro Football Focus, which was just 119th out of 128 graded receivers in 2023. He has a cap hit of $3.9 million, and despite his struggles, he is still a 6-foot-2 former first-team All-SEC receiver with 4.55 speed.
Burks is worth a gamble. And maybe he’s worth a third-rounder, too, if it gets the Cowboys out of the Gallup deal.
