Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett doesn't think that linebacker Leighton Vander Esch's neck injury is career-threatening. Instead, Garrett thinks they just need to give Vander Esch some time to let his neck settle down before they get him back on the field.
Jason Garrett on Leighton Vander Esch neck injury and absence for the Patriots game: "We don't think its career threatening. We think at some point it he will be back. We think it needs to calm down. Want to give it time to do that. Hopefully, we can get him back real soon."
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) November 22, 2019
Vander Esch suffered a stinger during the Cowboys game on October 20th against the Philadelphia Eagles. He missed the next game against the New York Giants but has started the last two games.
He has already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, and it's hard to imagine he would be ready to go four days later on Thanksgiving against the Buffalo Bills. On Sunday it will probably be Sean Lee who moves into start for him, with Joe Thomas moving to the strong side.
It's good news that this injury isn't considered career-threatening, but this isn't the first time there have been questions about his neck.
Dating back to his time with the Boise State Broncos there were questions about his neck. Before the 2018 draft some team's medical teams discovered something with his neck. Some teams were so concerned with it that they took him off of his draft board.
Vander Esch currently has 87 tackles on the season which is second on the Cowboys only behind Jaylon Smith. The Cowboys game on Sunday against the Patriots is a big one and not having Vander Esch on the field is going to be a big loss. A win against the Patriots will give the Cowboys total control over the NFC East.
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