Leighton Vander Esch out for six weeks: who will take his place at Dallas?

The Dallas Cowboys placed Leighton Vander Esch on injured reserve and will have to fill the large hole he will leave as a weak-side linebacker in the NFC East team’s front seven when they face the Los Angeles Chargers on Week 6′s Monday Night Football’s date at SoFi Stadium.

Placing Vander Esch means the linebacker will be out for at least four weeks with the neck injury he suffered against the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a niggling issue that has caused him to be inactive at different times during his career. Unfortunately, the prognosis indicates that the Boise State graduate will be out for up to six weeks. Therefore, the team needs to replace him with someone from within the squad.

Within the team's depth chart, head coach Mike McCarthy gave his confidence to Damone Clark to take the six-year veteran's place. Clark has played 58 percent of the defense's snaps in 2023 and has so far recorded 31 tackles, 17 of them solo and just one behind the line of scrimmage.

Injuries have been a constant negative on the Dallas defense as they lost cornerback Trevon Diggs for the year to a torn knee ligament and also ruled out C.J. Goodwin and Nahshon Wright.

Other options to replace Vander Esch

The Cowboys signed veteran Rashaan Evans to their practice squad last Wednesday. The former Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons player has 476 tackles after playing 76 regular season games in the NFL. His pedigree is undeniable since he is a first-round pick from the Alabama Crimson Tide who is still at a good age (27 years old) and could provide a spark to the Cowboys defense.