Jerry Jones confirmed Tuesday morning that Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch would be out for the rest of the season.
Jones was taking part in his weekly interview with 105.3 The Fan when he confirmed that Vander Esch would be sidelined longer than expected and would not be back this year.
"Well, I would say that's accurate," Jones said on 'The Fan'. "We had just completely left it up to how he was evolving. But of course, he's such a very significant loss for us. He's an integral part of that defense out there. But we just wish him well. The nature of his potential injury here causes me to really think longer term and beyond what it means for next week or beyond what it means for next month, relative to the team. It has everything to do with what's in his best interest."
Vander Esch, 27, injured his neck in the Week 5 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Dallas Morning News reported it's at least the third neck injury for Vander Esch -- he missed three games last year with a stinger and 10 seven games in 2019 due to a bulging disk. The paper reported Vander Esch has a congenital condition, cervical spinal stenosis, that makes him susceptible to injury.
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Vander Esch's injury against the Niners came when he was pushed from behind into the leg of linebacker Micah Parsons, jamming his neck.
He was eligible to come off injured reserve this week, but Jones said Tuesday he didn't know when Vander Esch might return to the field for the Cowboys.
"Let's just put it like this, I don't know and there are a lot of factors involved," Jones said. "But, he just really needs to see how this continues to heal and then go from that point as to whether or not he would want to continue to, let's say, expose himself to injury."
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Second-year player Damone Clark, who had a neck issue discovered at the NFL combine and dropped in the draft as a result, has been one of the key replacements with Vander Esch out.
Another is 2018 first-round pick Rashaan Evans, who signed to the Dallas practice squad after Vander Esch's injury and has now used all three promotions to the active roster.
The Cowboys are expected to sign Evans to the 53-man roster after he played a season-high 28 snaps in last weekend's 49-17 victory over the New York Giants.
“Just the way the game went, it was good to get him more reps than we probably thought he would get,” coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. “The personnel decision is definitely in front of us.”
