Former Boise State linebacker, NFL first-round pick Vander Esch announces NFL retirement

Just three days after being released from the Dallas Cowboys, former Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch announced his retirement from football on Monday.

The 2017 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year sustained a neck injury in the Cowboys’ Oct. 8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which kept him out for the rest of the 2023 season.

Vander Esch, 28, failed a physical before the Cowboys released him last week. He played for the Cowboys for his entire six-year NFL career. Dallas selected Vander Esch with the 19th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

“I realize that I am no longer able to adhere to the unwavering standard of excellence that professional football demands,” Vander Esch wrote in a letter on Monday. “I say this with a heavy heart: I am medically retiring from the NFL. I love the game of football so much, but my body won’t cooperate any longer.”

Vander Esch joined Boise State’s program in 2014 from Riggins as a walk-on and redshirted his freshman season before making 12 appearances as a redshirt freshman in 2015. He went on to star for the Broncos in a career highlighted by the game-winning interception against Fresno State in the 2017 Mountain West championship game.

However, a neck injury sustained in 2016 would foreshadow the early end of Vander Esch’s career.

He played in just six games during his redshirt sophomore season at Boise State, and then his second season in the NFL was cut short by a nerve issue in his neck that required surgery. A broken collarbone limited his 2020 season to just 10 games, and his neck injury in 2023 saw him start just five games.

Vander Esch made special note of Boise State in his retirement letter:

“I would like to thank Boise State University for taking on a kid from Riggins, Idaho, as a walk-on and letting me grow into the player that became a 1st round pick,” Vander Esch wrote. “Coach (Bryan) Harsin, I am thankful for the opportunity you gave me to play at my dream college. Growing up and going to the Boise State games as a kid, it was always my dream to wear that blue and orange uniform.”

During his NFL career, Vander Esch racked up 469 combined tackles, 13 pass breakups and three interceptions. During his rookie season in Dallas, Vander Esch was named a second-team All-Pro and was invited to the 2019 Pro Bowl as an alternate.