This is why Dallas Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch may have no choice but to retire

The fingers tingle. The numbness throughout the forearms and upper arms come and go. The shoulders don’t do what they should. The strength is mostly gone.

These symptoms are all a result of a successful neck fusion surgery.

Spinal stenosis is no joke, and just because the surgery is out-patient and “minor” for the doctor doesn’t mean it’s not major, and life-changing, for the patient.

This is what Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is dealing with.

On Tuesday morning, during his weekly radio show on 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones said that Vander Esch is out for the year because of the neck injury he sustained in the team’s loss at San Francisco on Oct. 8.

Vander Esch had missed the previous four games, with the hope he might return this season.

Don’t be surprised when LVE tries to return next season, or when he announces that he is retiring.

He is facing the reality of another neck surgery, and also the potential of giving up playing football for forever.

Life is a series of trades, and some deals are worth it. Playing football again might be worth it for Vander Esch.

But if he doesn’t already know this, he will: There will be pain and discomfort with this for the rest of his life.

As someone who lives with spinal stenosis, and had neck fusion surgery in May of ‘22, neither the before nor the after of this procedure is ideal.

There is nothing quite like sitting in a doctor’s office, looking at an MRI of your own spinal region, and asking the physician, “Am I at risk for paralysis?”

The medical response is, “Duh?”

When people betray you it hurts. When your own body lets you down it’s crushing.

The pain and discomfort from spinal stenosis can’t be relieved with a few Advil (I tried.) The pain and discomfort from spinal stenosis can’t be relieved with a prescribed opioid (I tried; one pill was miserable).

The pain and discomfort from spinal stenosis can really only be addressed by a surgery, and the acceptance that your body will never be the same.

The surgery stabilizes the neck, but there is no guarantee your nerves will come back. There is no guarantee your arms, fingers and shoulders will feel, and operate, the way they previously did.

My fingers still tingle from time to time. There is still numbness in my arms. The strength in my arms, and shoulders, will never be what they once were.

It’s not an uncommon reality for people as we age; poor posture doesn’t help. Men who played offensive line, defensive line or linebacker into college and beyond often suffer from it.

In my case, it was mostly as a result of whiplash. The doctor called it, “A bruised spinal cord.” The spinal cord is a region I’d rather than play with.

Even in a post-surgery life, you get used to the discomfort, and “It’s fine.” “Fine” is one of the those flexible four letter words.

LVE has been dealing with this since he was at Boise State, and the condition prompted some teams to drop him from their draft boards. The Cowboys selected him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

It’s not his fault his body refuses to cooperate with the realities of playing in the NFL. Some are luckier than others.

He’s a good player, the prospect of potentially having to retire from the game at the age of 27 has to be slightly terrifying for the man.

He’s played 71 games in the NFL, thus qualifying him for its player pension plan. In his six seasons he’s made a few million already. He’s probably not thinking about that right now.

LVE is like so many others who love the game more than air, and few have any clue what they are going to do when it’s over. Because, unlike tennis, golf or virtually every other sport, when football is over it’s over.

It’s why so many of them continue to play when their bodies say they shouldn’t. It’s why nearly all of them who deal with the painful affects from football say it was worth it.

This is Leighton Vander Esch’s life, and repeatedly he has made the decision to keep playing football with a neck that isn’t great.

Don’t be surprised if he has another surgery, and tries to come back again. Playing sports, specifically football, can be just that much fun.

Don’t be surprised if Leighton Vander Esch says that’s enough, and he retires.

Either way, he will be dealing with this for the rest of his life and, even on the best days, it will still hurt.