Cowboys' Forgotten Man Slowly Making Oxnard Comeback

We have heard all offseason how the Dallas Cowboys' tight end position is in good shape with Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford all putting their best foot forward.

But there's one name that is perhaps getting lost, and it's one that just 12 months ago, had big expectations placed upon it, and that's John Stephens Jr.

Back-to-back ACL injuries to the same knee have seen this once-super promising tight end have to take a back seat after impressing in preseason games and camps prior to his injuries.

But he's slowly making his comeback in Oxnard.

“We're ramping him back up into practice,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “We're being smart with what we do. He is champing at the bit like Sam Williams, we all know the talent that he has, but again to talk about the work ethic and what this guy had to persevere and fight through, anybody that's ever been injured and then injured twice in two years, just the mental anguish that you go through.

"This young man, I can't say enough great things about him and his work ethic and what he did with our trainers like he hasn't missed a day.”

Back in 2023, Stephens Jr. flashed in preseason games, catching six passes for 62 yards and a touchdown before getting injured. Then last year's performance, eight catches for 74 yards, indicated things appeared to click.

But then the football gods intervened.

Now the forgotten man of the tight end room, Stephens Jr. is quietly going about his business in the background with a couple of nice catches in practice.

So, while many fixate on Spann-Ford and Schoonmaker in the tight end room, don't discount Stephens Jr. to complete the "Four Horsemen" for Schottenheimer's offense.