FRISCO — Coming out of the bye week, the Dallas Cowboys have not been able to rid themselves of the injury bug that cast a shadow over the team since Week 4. Before their two most recent games, they watched Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Brandin Cooks and Eric Kendricks all go down or miss time with injury.
Leading up to their Sunday night matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, their depth chart took another hit. Tight end John Stephens Jr. suffered a torn ACL on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Todd Archer.
He will undergo surgery to repair the knee and will miss the remainder of the season.
In his second NFL season, Stephens Jr. sustains the same injury on the same knee that sidelined him for the entirety of his rookie season.
The Cowboys signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2023. Stephens Jr. had not yet appeared in regular season action to this point, but Dallas has kept him around in hope he could add to their tight end group down the line.
Before his initial ACL injury last season, Stephens Jr. was a standout performer for the team in the preseason.
The injury does not impact the Cowboys weekly 53-man group, but certainly heightens the urgency for Jake Ferguson to remain active as the team's best receiving threat from this position group.
Ferguson had his own knee injury scare in Week 1 that kept him out of the lineup for one game.
Nonetheless, its a devastating blow for Stephens Jr. and the Cowboys who saw a great deal of upside in their young prospect.
