Cowboys’ Leighton Vander Esch gives encouraging update on his health

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch sounds like he’s good to go for the 2020 season after battling an injury-plagued 2019.

Almost every year, the Dallas Cowboys appear to strike gold in the first round of the NFL Draft. That happened back in 2018 when the Cowboys selected Boise State linebacker, Leighton Vander Esch. He was phenomenal in his rookie season, but he dealt with a bit of a sophomore slump, caused mostly in part due to neck issues.

After undergoing surgery to deal with “cervical spinal stenosis” this past January, Vander Esch told the media during a Thursday conference call that he’s not experiencing any neck issues at the start of training camp.

“I feel amazing,” said Vander Esch, speaking to the DFW media in a Thursday conference call. “That’s all behind me. I’m not worried about my neck any more.”

Vander Esch is not expected to have limitations during training camp

After undergoing surgery, the expectation was that the Cowboys’ starting linebacker would be cleared for organized team activities this spring. Those voluntary workouts were scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, he’ll step onto the field for the first time in Dallas’ first camp with head coach Mike McCarthy at the helm. To combat a potential injury aggravation, Vander Esch said he will be wearing a small neck roll inside his shoulder pads to absorb the shock when tackling the opposition.

Vander Esch shined in his rookie season, where he posted 140 total tackles, seven passes defensed and two interceptions through 16 games, earning him a Pro Bowl nomination. However, Vander Esch was limited to nine games after suffering what was initially believed to be a stinger, which was later upgraded to a herniated disk and then to spinal stenosis.

In 2019, Vander Esch tallied 72 tackles and three passes defensed. With the linebacker on the sidelines, the Cowboys defense as a whole struggled and played a factor in the team missing the playoffs.

Now with a clean bill of health, Vander Esch will look to wreak havoc alongside Jaylon Smith and Sean Lee in 2020. Here’s hoping that young linebacker can return to his rookie form this upcoming season. If so, Dallas becomes a much scarier team to face.