Blogging The Boys
The Jake Ferguson deal was excellent for the Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys finally gave out a contract extension! Relax, it’s not the guy everyone was hoping for, but it is a good player. On Sunday, the Cowboys signed their Pro Bowl tight end Jake Ferguson to a four-year, $52 million extension, with $30 million in guarantees. It brings him in at an annual cost of $13 million per season, making him the seventh-highest-paid tight end in the league.
Just a couple of weeks ago, we mentioned the Cowboys should try to get Ferguson extended before the season started, so this news is music to our ears. With the deal done, here are the four things about this extension that we love the most.
One great thing about getting Ferguson signed is the Cowboys won’t have to compete with what could be a jacked-up tight end market next offseason. George Kittle and Trey McBride just signed new deals this offseason for $19 million per year. Yowzer! Other tight ends like Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts, David Njoku, and Dallas Goedert are all entering the last year of their contracts and will be up for an extension next offseason. This means we could see some high prices for tight ends real soon.
The Cowboys avoided all of that. By being proactive, they got Ferguson for a good cost, which will probably be even better after some of these other guys get bigger paydays. The front office doesn’t get much recognition for getting ahead of things, but that’s exactly what they did here. Well done.
For the past four seasons, a tight end has finished second on the team in receptions, with Ferguson being that guy for the last two years, and Dalton Schultz the two years prior. That won’t be the case this season. The Cowboys now have both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, creating one of the best receiving duos in the game. With so much attention given to those guys, what is that going to mean for Ferguson? Answer: A lot of open space.
Ferguson has already had a 761-yard season with five touchdowns. He should continue to feast as one of Dak Prescott’s safest targets, only now he’ll have more room to get a running start before he jumps over people. He’s technically already had his breakout season, but he could be in store for some more career-bests this year, which would have driven up his price entering free agency next offseason.
The Cowboys are very particular about the players they decide to retain. Players like Schultz, Tyler Biadasz, and Tony Pollard are also fourth-rounders who turned into Pro Bowl players, but the team opted to let them walk in free agency. They obviously don’t view Ferguson in the same light.
This is great news considering the Cowboys' new offensive coordinator is a former offensive line coach who is masterful in utilizing his tight...
