The Cowboys have more injury concerns coming out of this Sunday's game, as starting linebacker Leighton Vander Esch was added to the growing list with a neck injury.
The Cowboys initially said he was questionable to return after he exited in the first quarter of the team's 40-35 overtime loss to Jacksonville before ruling him out for good at halftime.
After the game, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said he didn't have any details on Vander Esch's injury but expressed concern about the linebacker's health going forward.
“I’m concerned, obviously,” McCarthy said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “I think everybody is concerned based on his history. Miss him? Look at the way he played last week. He was a huge factor.”
Vander Esch had neck surgery in Dec. 2019 after being diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis. The injury limited him to just nine games during the 2019 season.
A broken collarbone and an ankle injury limited Vander Esch to ten games in 2020, but he has been very healthy as of late, appearing in all 17 games last season and all 13 games so far in 2022.
The Cowboys now hope Vander Esch isn't the latest victim in the team's string of bad injury luck. Dallas lost right tackle Terence Steele (knee), nose tackle Johnathan Hankins (pec) and cornerback Anthony Brown (Achilles) for the rest of the season over the last two weeks.
Vander Esch, the Cowboys' 2018 first-round pick, signed a one-year deal with Dallas in the offseason after his rookie contract expired. Entering Sunday's game, he had 90 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack.
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