Cowboys decline fifth-year option on Pro Bowl LB Leighton Vander Esch

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is no longer linked with the franchise past the upcoming season but could still have a long-term home with "America's Team." 

NFL Network's Jane Slater (h/t Kevin Patra) reported Monday that the Cowboys have informed Vander Esch's agent they won't be exercising the fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract. That option would have been worth $9.145 million and been guaranteed had Dallas picked it up before Monday's deadline to make such a decision. 

Vander Esch joined the league when Dallas selected him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and he earned a Pro Bowl nod his debut season. He missed a total of 13 games the following two campaigns because of a neck issue and, more recently, a broken collarbone, and the Cowboys selected Penn State Nittany Lions star linebacker Micah Parsons in the first round of this year's draft on Thursday night. 

Dallas also acquired LSU Tigers linebacker Jabril Cox in the draft's fourth round over the weekend. 

While Vander Esch is set to enter a contract season later this year, both Slater and Todd Archer of ESPN report the Cowboys want to keep the 25-year-old beyond 2021 via a contract extension that, presumably, would carry an average annual value under $9 million.