How much of this player do you see in Leighton Vander Esch?
The Cowboys were already limited at linebacker with Sean Lee out until Week 4. Vander Esch was hopeful to return to his 2018 Pro Bowl form after a nagging neck injury kept him out of seven games in 2019.
Instead, Vander Esch is likely going to be out the next two months with a broken collarbone.
“#Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch cleanly broke his collarbone, source said after his CT scan. He’ll have surgery and return to action in 6-8 weeks.”
Vander Esch’s health issues are a straight comparison to Lee, the former second-round pick out of Penn State in 2010.
Lee has missed an entire season due to a torn ACL, while injuries over the last three seasons have limited his “what if” Hall of Fame career. Sure, Lee has made multiple Pro Bowls during his time in Dallas, but Lee could have been something special.
That’s how it feels when it comes to Vander Esch.
Between the neck and the collarbone injuries, it feels that Vander Esch is treading water before becoming the next Lee. In just his third season, Vander Esch will have been sitting out for nearly half of the games played during that time.
However, owner Jerry Jones has faith in his former Pro Bowler. On 105.3 The Fan, Jones stuck up for Vander Esch.
“The injury he’s got right now is just bad luck. … I don’t think he’s injury prone. I think he plays a tough, physical position, and he’s gonna have injuries that he deals with,” via Jon Machota of The Athletic.
Let’s hope for a speedy recovery and hope that we never have to talk about this ever again.