Cowboys Michael Gallup has a big day versus Packers, leaving the question of his 2024 season open for now

Michael Gallup had quite the playoff performance.

It’s fair to say that in 2023, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup was not the Michael Gallup that he was pre-injury. Since returning from his ACL injury, he’s been out of sync with Dak Prescott, mistiming his routes and jumps, and generally not looking like the athlete he was previously. As a testament to that, this year Gallup had one regular-season game with more than 70 yards and only scored two touchdowns. His 2023 season saw the six-year veteran fall far behind the team’s other pass-catchers of CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, and Brandin Cooks, finishing fourth in receiving yards and fifth in receptions. Let’s not even talk about the L.A. Chargers game where he had three receptions off of ten targets, and also the fact he managed only two games with more than three receptions this year.

But during the playoff game against Green Bay, we saw a glimpse of the old Gallup, a Gallup that seemed to step up and make the most of his opportunities in a pass-heavy comeback game as the Cowboys tried to claw their way back into the light.

One of the teams biggest plays of the game last week in terms of yards and momentum shift came from Gallup, when he made a massive 42-yard reception off a well executed route. Gallup finished the game only behind CeeDee Lamb by a handful of yards (110 to 103), on a day when Lamb had fallen victim to the Cowboys playoffs curse and spent much of the first half with very little production. Gallup completed the game with 103 yards catching six receptions off six targets, more yards than Jake Ferguson (93).

Gallup will be entering next season at the age of 28 with two years left on his contract and a cap hit of little under $14 million. He’s now given a hint that if the team wants to make him relevant again, he can possibly be that guy. He had a huge playoff game, only to be overshadowed by the poor result.

It was unclear what the Cowboys’ plans around Gallup going forward were going to be heading into a new season, but his last performance may have altered the way they see him.