As hectic as the Dallas Cowboys' 2025 offseason was, it felt obvious they would hand out a couple of lucrative extensions after trading Micah Parsons. Once Parsons got dealt, the front office wanted to show it was willing to invest in homegrown talent.
Sure enough, Tyler Smith and DaRon Bland were rewarded with massive new deals. Even Hunter Luepke received an extension.
One player who got paid before Parsons' hold-in reached a fever pitch, though, was tight end Jake Ferguson, who signed a four-year, $52 million extension with $30 million guaranteed, making him the seventh-highest-paid tight end in the NFL at the time.
Given Ferguson's production and chemistry with Dak Prescott, giving him $13 million per year seemed like a smart investment. Unfortunately, though, Ferguson responded with his worst season to date. It makes you wonder if the Cowboys are having second thoughts about paying him.
Even though Ferguson caught a career-high 80 passes, he averaged just 35.3 receiving yards per game, underlining his troubling regression in creating yards after the catch. He also fumbled three times, and each one sucked the air out of the team due to the defense's inability to come up with stops.
The Dallas Cowboys may already be questioning Jake Ferguson's $52 million extension
Let's take a look at Ferguson's YAC over the years.
Year | YAC per reception (via PFF) |
|---|---|
2022 | 7.7 |
2023 | 5.6 |
2024 | 5.6 |
2025 | 3.8 |
That is a massive decline. Among 23 tight ends who drew at least 60 targets, Ferguson's 3.8 yards after the catch per reception ranked 20th, per Pro Football Focus advanced stats. Even two of the league's oldest starting tight ends, Travis Kelce and Hunter Henry, comfortably outpaced him. Former Cowboy Dalton Schultz (4.4 YAC per reception) also finished well ahead of Ferguson.
As we noted above, Ferguson's role wasn't diminished by the presence of George Pickens. He still drew 102 targets, tying his career high.
With defenses focused on CeeDee Lamb and Pickens, you'd expect Ferguson to have more room to work underneath. Instead, he struggled to capitalize. Even when he found space, he rarely made the first defender miss and looked noticeably less elusive after the catch.
Making plays after the catch was Ferguson's calling card when he took over as the starter. Last season, it was nowhere to be found. His chemistry with Dak Prescott still carries value, but plenty of starting tight ends could have produced the same numbers. That's a problem when you're paying someone as the seventh-highest-paid player at the position.
There's value in being Prescott's security blanket, but Prescott enjoyed throwing to tight ends long before Ferguson entered the fold. Given his limited impact as a run blocker, the Cowboys need Ferguson to do more than execute the basics of the position.
Better ball security and a return to being a difference-maker after the catch have to be part of the equation in 2026 or difficult conversations will have to be had.
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