Jake Ferguson gets paid

Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson recieved a 4 year, 52 million dollar deal from the Dallas Cowboys, making him the 7th highest paid TE in the league right now. I've got a lot of conflictions about this decision, so let's dive into the logistics and the implications of this deal.

Let's start with the positive, after Schultz left in 2023, a lingering question was present for the Dallas Cowboys. What were they going to do at the TE spot? Now they drafted Luke Schoonmaker, TE out of Iowa, in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. However, in the 2023 training camp, it was made clear that Jake Ferguson was going to be the starter for the time being. During the first 5 weeks, Ferguson emerged as a clear favorite target for Dak Prescott. Posting respectable numbers at the time for the TE position. When the Offense started to take off in weeks 8-14, Ferguson did as well. As a big target who specialized in the middle of the field, paired with a Quarterback who is one of the best at throwing in between the numbers and especially the seams, it seemed like Ferguson was a perfect target for someone like Prescott. Ferguson posted 761 yards, 44.5 yds per game, and 5 TDS on the season. Not bad for someone who is the third option and his first years campaign was a huge success. Even in the abysmal 2024 playoff game vs the Packers, Ferguson had 3 TDS in the game. Becoming the first Cowboys TE to post 3 TDS in a single playoff game. Things looked up for Ferguson in 2024.

However, things did not pan out for him in the 2024 campaign. While he still remained a favorite for Dak Prescott, Ferguson was in and out with injuries to his elbow and his right leg. Especially after Prescott went down and was ruled out for the season and Cooper Rush came in, Ferguson's targets and numbers went down. Ferguson in 2024 posted 494 yds, 39 yds per game and 0 TDS on the whole season. Even with Prescott coming back and the offense shifting to a more heavy package personnel, which might open up Ferguson to more targets due to more time for Prescott and more space to work with, people are still skeptical if Ferguson is that guy for the Cowboys moving forward.

In my opinion, this deal just feels like an escape for Jerry Jones to run away from actually dealing with his star players instead of letting them holdout and run up the price, but that's enough speaking about a man who doesn't really care about winning super bowls and only cares about generating media attention. Regardless of the circumstances, I am a fan of retaining players who will be beneficial to the offense, someone who can contribute in both run blocking and pass catching, a player who isn't afraid to stand up for his teammates, especially his Quarterback. It's a good move by the Jones family to sign Jake Ferguson, now they need to lock up Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs soon, before they leave the Cowboys out their to dry again.