News broke Sunday morning that the Dallas Cowboys have re-signed one of their players to a four-year extension. While most were expecting the next Cowboy to re-sign would be Micah Parsons, who is in a contract year, it is tight end Jake Ferguson who receives a 4-year, $52 million deal.

Ferguson’s deal includes a $12 million signing bonus and $30 million in guaranteed money.

This comes as a shock while the Cowboys are trying to find a way to sign Micah Parsons, but reportedly have not begun negotiations with one of the league’s premier pass rushers. But the bigger shock might be the Cowboys committing to Jake Ferguson for the next four years.

In another article, we speculated this summer that with the number of Cowboys due for a new contract, Ferguson might be the one left on the outside looking in. The Cowboys have Luke Schoonmaker and also Brevyn Spann-Ford, who could see an increased role in this Schottenheimer scheme. When it comes to tight end, Dallas seems to have a plug-and-play system since Jason Witten left a huge void as one of the league’s best tight ends. But with this new deal, it looks like Dallas wants to keep Jake Ferguson here for a while.

Ferguson had a breakout season in 2023 with 71 catches, 761 yards, and 5 touchdowns; all career-highs in his three-year stint with Dallas. Ferguson had a decrease in numbers last year as he battled through injuries to still compete in 14 games, but had only 59 catches, 494 yards, and failed to catch a touchdown in 2024. The biggest mistake was fumbling the ball four times in 2024, losing two of those.

Giving money to Jake Ferguson is banking on his production in 2023 being the constant. 2024 seems to be an anomaly with not only Ferguson’s health issues, but also the inconsistency on the offensive line, a lackluster running game, and Dak Prescott’s injury that took him out for the majority of last season. But everyone needs a security blanket tight end, and if Prescott wants Ferguson around, the organization will do anything to make this happen.

This deal sparks three discussions surrounding the Cowboys.

1 — If not Ferguson, who gets left out of the fold?

Contractually, the Cowboys have a lot of hard decisions to make. The newly acquired George Pickens and cornerback DaRon Bland are both in contract years, while Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith is due for a contract next year.

When it comes to paying people, you can’t pay for everyone, and that’s a hard line to navigate.

2 — What tight ends will be in Dallas?

Not only are these the bigger contracts, but what does this do for the tight end room? Does Schoonmaker have a forever home in Dallas, or will he be on a new team soon, either via trade or naturally leaving in free agency? Schoonmaker stepped up well for Dallas when Ferguson was out.

We also have Brevyn Spann-Ford, who should have an increased role as we mentioned, but does this commitment to Ferguson mean that Spann-Ford’s time is limited?

This likely means John Stephens Jr. will not be in Dallas much longer, as he has terrible luck with flashes in the preseason, followed by devastating injuries.

3 — When are they signing Micah Parsons?

Many could also wonder why Ferguson got paid before Micah Parsons. Parsons will break the bank, back the Brinks truck, and set the league-standard for the highest paid non-QB in NFL history. Ferguson didn’t set the market, as he’ll be the seventh-highest paid tight end in the NFL.

Jerry Jones recently made comments that insinuated he regrets signing Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele when he did, making remarks regarding their availability. This is also the hesitancy regarding Micah Parsons, but Ferguson missed time last year and had a dip in production and got paid, so what is Jerry waiting for with Micah?

Overall, if Ferguson can duplicate his 2023 season and build on that, this could be a good team-friendly deal, allowing them to allocate money elsewhere. But if Ferguson doesn’t sustain, this could come back to bite the Cowboys in the long run.

Only time will tell. What do you think of the Cowboys signing Ferguson now? Should they have gotten a deal with Micah Parsons first? Let us know in the comments below.