Leighton Vander Esch Injury: Cowboys LB suffers career-ending neck injury, NFL fans blame 49ers Trent Williams

The Dallas Cowboys, led by star quarterback Dak Prescott and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, are just off to a magnificent 49-17 win over the New York Giants. The team is now sitting at the second spot in the NFC East with a 6-3 mark.

The Cowboys had a chance to solidify their position in the NFC East by beating the division leader Philadelphia Eagles. However, they couldn’t gain the chance and instead, embraced a painful 23-28 loss in the contest. Apart from the setback, the blow of Vander Esch’s potential career-ending injury also fell heavy on them lately.

Leighton Vander Esch injury update

After sustaining the scary neck injury during the match against the San Francisco 49ers, Vander Esch is now ruled out for the rest of the season. The team’s owner Jerry Jones announced the news on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday morning saying the decision was taken for the “best interest” of the LB.

“I would say that is accurate. We had just completely left it up to how he was evolving. But he’s such a 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 time and beyond what it means for next week or next month, relatively to the team. It has everything to do with his best interest,” he said via Bleacher Report.

The Cowboys star played a pivotal role in the team this season by recording 30 tackles along with a fumble recovery for a touchdown throughout his five starts. As Jones said, the LB’s injury will surely be a blow to the team’s defensive side.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Vander Esch sustained a neck injury as he suffered the same blow back in 2019. He was then diagnosed with “cervical spinal stenosis”, and had to undergo surgery in early 2020.

NFL fans blame Trent Williams for injuring Leighton Vander Esch

Vander Esch sustained the neck injury when the 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams pushed him from behind. The heavy push sent the LB into defensive lineman Micah Parsons, causing him to jam his neck on Micah’s leg.

As the news about the Cowboys’ star’s season-ending blow started swirling in the air, many Cowboys fans took to social media to slam Williams, who himself got injured days back.

A netizen wrote,”He’s a criminal.”

Just a few days ago, the 49ers star was slapped with a $11,000 fine for punching the New York Giants defensive player A’Shawn Robinson. Many netizens said getting violent on the field is not something new for him.

A fan wrote,”He’s a dirty player and has been for years. Not sure why it surprises people.”

Meanwhile, following Vander Esch’s initial neck surgery in 2020, there was speculation that another injury in the same place could potentially make an end to his whole football career. Many fans even urged to kick Trent out of the NFL for possibly ending the veteran’s career.

A person wrote,”Dirty!! Kick him out of the NFL now!”

The Cowboys will be facing off against the Carolina Panthers in their upcoming clash and Leighton Vander Esch’s absence will definitely be a blow for them.

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