Will Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson play against the Saints on Sunday?
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson left the Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns with a knee injury, but an MRI on Monday provided optimism.
On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Cleveland Browns 33-17 in their NFL regular season opener on the road. Unfortunately, tight end Jake Ferguson, who was Dak Prescott’s second-favorite target last season behind CeeDee Lamb, had to exit the game in the third quarter after suffering from a left knee injury just after making a two-yard catch. He was tackled by Browns linebacker Jordan Hicks, who took him down by the ankle, and he landed with the knee the wrong way. He was taken to the locker room and did not return to the game. He finished with just three catches for 15 yards.
Ferguson finished last season with 71 catches for 761 yards and five touchdowns. Despite his stats in the opener, he’s an impact player for the Cowboys, so losing him would definitely not be good. Fortunately, after an MRI on Monday, things look optimistic.
“I cannot even think what we would miss without him. His mentality, what he brings to the game, where we’ve grown in our connection, we will be fine,” said Prescott. “He will be fine. He gave me the news, so I am just going to try and think on that and get him back out there as quick as we can.”
This news will keep Ferguson off of the injured reserve list, which means that he could still play as early as Week 2 when the Cowboys face the New Orleans Saints this Sunday, September 15. Head coach Mike McCarthy has said Ferguson is in the “return to work” rehab routine this week in practice.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he believes that there’s a good chance Ferguson will be ready to play on Sunday. “I think so much of him for what he can add to this team this year that it would’ve been a blow, and we’re relieved about it,” said Jones.
If Ferguson does not play on Sunday, the Cowboys would rely on 2023 second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker and other tight ends Brevyn Spann-Ford and John Stephens Jr. Stephens was inactive for the Cowboys’ opener against the Browns due to a hamstring strain.
