Historically, the Dallas Cowboys have had several outstanding starting tight ends on their roster.
Starting as recently as Jason Witten, who leads the Cowboys in all-time receptions (1,215) and yards (12,977) while second in touchdowns (72) only to Dez Bryant.
In addition to Witten, the Cowboys have had Doug Cosbie (300-3728-30), Jay Novacek (339-3576-22), and Billie Joe DuPree (267-3565-41). Those are just the top four.
Others like Dalton Schultz, Jake Ferguson, Mike Ditka, and Pettis Norman have also made their marks in franchise history.
But when it comes to the back-ups at the position? The room becomes mighty empty when it comes to making an impact.
As the 2024 season concluded, these were the three back-up tight ends to Ferguson:
- Player – Games / RECs-YDs-TDs
- Luke Schoonmaker – 34 / 35-306-2
- Brevyn Spann-Ford — 17 / 9-88-0
- John Stephens 0 – Injured in preseason in 2023 & 2024
As has seemingly been the case for a great many years, the Cowboys are very thin at tight end.
After a dismal rookie season that saw him make just eight catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns, Schoonmaker rebounded somewhat with 27 catches for 241 yards and one touchdown.
Still, Schoonmaker is best known for coming up an inch short of the end zone on a crucial fourth-down play in a loss to the Eagles in 2023. Not a good look for a second-round pick.
Most of Schoonmaker’s 2024 numbers came in the three-plus games Ferguson missed during the season.
He had six catches for 43 yards against the Saints, and another six for 56 yards against the Texans. His lone touchdown came against the Commanders on a three-catch, 55-yard effort.
His final start as TE1 against the Giants saw him haul in five catches for 33 yards.
In his other 13 games, Schoonmaker had just seven catches for 54 yards.
Spann-Ford’s two best games also came with Ferguson sidelined. He had four catches for 42 yards in the Houston loss and two for 20 yards the following week in the win over Washington.
The remaining 15 games, relegated mostly to the TE3 slot on the depth chart, saw him catch just three passes for 26 yards.
Stephens suffered another knee injury in training camp, the second straight year he has not survived to the end of training camp, and never played a single down in either season.
Roster Review 2025: Luke Schoonmaker/Brevyn Spann-Ford/John Stephens. This is Part 14 of a series. Click here for a list of all related articles.
Outlook For 2025
The real battle is going to be between Schoonmaker and Spann-Ford for the TE2 slot.
Unless there is an injury ahead of him, Stephens is likely destined for the practice squad in 2025. And that assumes he can avoid a third-straight, season-ending knee injury in the preseason.
So far, in his two seasons, Schoonmaker has failed to live up to his second-round draft selection in 2023.
Spann-Ford’s upside, and his superior blocking compared to Schoonmaker, will give him an advantage if the Cowboys are going to start running the ball more this year.
Quite frankly, a return to the run game is exactly what this offense needs. Which all but cements Spann-Ford’s hold on that last TE slot on the depth chart in 2025.
Long-Term Outlook
As mentioned in the previous post in this series, Ferguson will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025 season concludes.
Schoonmaker is under contract through the end of 2026 and is set to make around $3.7 million combined over the next two seasons. He will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Spann-Ford is slated for a combined $2 million in salary in 2025 and 2026 before becoming a restricted free agent in 2027. Stephens will make $961,000 this fall and will be a restricted free agent after the year ends.
What does that all mean?
That depends.
If Dallas decides to keep Ferguson, and if Dallas does shift to more of a balanced run-pass attack, figure that Schoonmaker and Stephens are not long for the franchise after 2026.
Spann-Ford is a better run blocker than either of them. And, so far, he’s got less medical baggage hanging in his locker than these two as well.
If Ferguson goes after this year?
That would probably be the only way all three remain in Dallas long-term. Assuming Jerry Jones doesn’t go “all-in” and burn another second-round draft pick on a tight end this April, or next.