Former Cowboys WR Michael Gallup Surprisingly Retires From NFL at Age 28

Michael Gallup is retiring from the NFL after six seasons.

Gallup, who starred at Colorado State and played six years for the Dallas Cowboys, was placed on the retired/reserve list by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday. ESPN’s Ed Werder reported Friday that Gallup’s decision was a surprise to the Raiders’ front office.

Gallup signed a one-year deal worth $3 million with the Raiders this offseason. He attended organized team activities and minicamp but announced his retirement one day before Las Vegas was scheduled to report to training camp. Gallup was expected to compete for the Raiders’ No. 3 receiver job behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.

The 28-year-old caught 33 passes for 507 yards as a rookie in 2018 before starring in the Cowboys’ season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs, grabbing six passes for 119 yards. He was the Cowboys’ second-leading receiver in ’19 behind Amari Cooper, catching 66 passes for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns.

Gallup tore his ACL in January 2022 and never quite recovered from the injury. He appeared in all 17 games for the Cowboys last season but caught just 34 passes for 418 yards, which ranked fourth on the team.