FRISCO — Luke Schoonmaker felt a pop in his hamstring about three weeks ago upon planting his left leg when running a corner route. The Cowboys tight end and 2023 second-round pick suffered a Grade II hamstring sprain, which forced him to miss a large chunk of the spring.
Again.
Any offseason injury is unfortunate. It seems especially so for someone who in 2023 missed the spring and start of training camp with a college foot injury before needing shoulder surgery early in 2024. He has lost significant time during a stage of the year when young players can make real gains.
None of that appears to shake Schoonmaker’s positivity.
“I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” Schoonmaker said Thursday. “It’s like, ‘All right, I’m going to start getting back into it soon,’ and then I’ll keep doing my thing. Once we have the time, after we’re done with OTAs [and minicamp], take advantage of that time.”
Schoonmaker is on track to be available for the July start of training camp. He expressed belief that, despite the setbacks, he can achieve a substantial growth spurt in his game entering his second NFL season.
He caught eight passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.
His development starts with mental strides.
“I think knowing the playbook, having that down, is like, I don’t even know what percentage of the battle,” Schoonmaker said. “Once you have that, then you can play faster. Then, you can play smarter. Now that I have that, I can focus on things that I maybe didn’t have as much time last year as I do now. Now, it’s really focusing on those other things because I’ve got the playbook down.”
Schoonmaker, 25, is one of several Cowboys players who did not practice Thursday. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (contract), defensive end Micah Parsons (personal preference), nose tackle Mazi Smith (shoulder) and defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa (hip) were among the others.
The left hamstring will cost Schoonmaker all six organized team activity (OTA) practices and next week’s minicamp.
But he appears to be doing all he can in the meantime, keeping engaged between rehabilitation, ball drills on the sideline and mental reps from monitoring those on the practice field. Princeton Fant, who spent 2023 on the practice squad, is rotating with Jake Ferguson on the first-team offense. Tight ends John Stephens and Peyton Hendershot continue to be eased back from the knee and ankle surgeries, respectively.
“Next week, I should be running,” Schoonmaker said. “The following couple weeks, I’m hoping to be back to normal.”
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