OXNARD, Calif. — You knew something was up when tight end Jake Ferguson was scheduled to speak with reporters at the podium on Saturday and was replaced by guard Tyler Smith.
We found out why.
Sunday morning, the Cowboys announced Ferguson signed a four-year contract extension worth $52 million with $30 million in guarantees. His $13 million average salary places him seventh in the NFL among tight ends.
Related:Dallas Cowboys agree to 4-year extension with TE Jake Ferguson
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The Ferguson announcement follows what co-owner/chief operating officer Stephen Jones said at the start of training camp — the franchise plans to have contract talks with four or five players.
Of course, the disappointment among fans is that it’s not Micah Parsons getting a new deal. That will come later because, well, that’s just how the Cowboys do business.
The tougher contracts, if you believe this to become a difficult negotiation, just take a little time. You need to trade barbs in the media, which is what Parsons and Jerry Jones have done, and give everything a pause followed by serious contract talks before it ends a holdout or, in Parsons’ case, a hold-in.
It’s just part of the way the Cowboys operate.
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Saturday morning, during opening ceremonies for training camp, fans yelled at Jerry Jones to get Parsons signed. When the Cowboys gave the city a check for $25,000 as part of the five-year deal to hold camp here, a fan yelled, “give it to Micah.”
Related:Watch: Dallas Cowboys training camp fans heckle Jerry Jones, chant ‘Pay Micah’
When Stephen Jones was asked about the scene, he remarked, “it doesn’t change anything. We want to pay Micah too. He’s gotta want to be paid.”
With that out the way, we celebrate the Ferguson deal as the first of what could be many from this franchise this summer.
“It’s just getting ahead of it,” Jones said. “He wants to be here. It’s like I always say, these negotiations, it takes two. Certainly he was one who was wanting to get his deal done and finished and we had a similar situation with a tight end [Dalton Schultz] a couple of years ago. It was tough.”
In 2023, the Cowboys offered Schultz a contract extension as he hit free agency but he wanted more. So he departed for Houston. It left the team searching for his replacement and this is where Ferguson stepped in.
As a fourth-round pick in 2022, he’s produced 1,429 yards and seven touchdowns in his career with a 9.6 yards per catch average.
In 2023, he was selected as a Pro Bowl replacement for George Kittle, because well, the 49ers were playing in the Super Bowl. That season, Ferguson set career-highs in catches (71), yards (761) and touchdowns (five). So you believed that’s one position the Cowboys shouldn’t worry about.
Then last season happened and it was just different for him. He had no touchdown receptions. He also missed three games with a concussion and knee issues that limited him to just 494 yards. Coach Brian Schottenheimer blamed himself, as the offensive coordinator last year, for not giving Ferguson more opportunities.
And as Ferguson entered a contract year, he said he wasn’t thinking about his future but instead wanting to erase what happened in 2024.
“That’s the first season that I’ve never scored a touchdown in my whole life,” Ferguson said. “Feeling that sting was definitely something and then it’s also at the same time, that wasn’t anybody else who played that season. That was me. Fixing it and if I was going to do the same thing I did [in the 2024] offseason and expect something else, I’d be insane. That’s the definition of insanity right there.”
Ferguson changed things from his diet to his workout routine to what he believes is a benefit for him.
With Ferguson secured, who’s next?
DaRon Bland. Sam Williams. Brandon Aubrey. Tyler Smith. Micah Parsons.
Stephen Jones was asked if anybody else was in the hopper.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “I don’t talk about them. If they want to talk about their business, they can. It’s not fair for me to talk about other players’ business.”
Fine. But expect something to happen with someone else, maybe a few more players, in the coming weeks.
Oh, if you care about these things, yes, Ferguson did speak at the podium on Sunday.
Good timing.
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