Another season for Cowboys tight end John Stephens Jr. has come to a premature end.
Head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed in a Thursday news conference that the second-year player tore the ACL in his left knee in practice on Wednesday. It is the same injury Stephens suffered during training camp last season.
“Very disappointed,’’ McCarthy said. “I think to a man you just could feel the energy sucked out of practice at that moment.
”Cannot say enough about him. You talk about a young man with a very bright future and this is just another setback, unfortunately.”
The Cowboys hoped Stephens, an undrafted former wide receiver at Louisiana-Lafayette, would emerge as a dynamic complement to Jake Ferguson at tight end. But those high expectations will have to be put on hold once again.
“Did everything that was asked of him and frankly we were trying to give him more work. Actually, coming out of the bye week, we had plans to try to get him more involved,” McCarthy said.
Stephens has yet to appear in an NFL game since signing with Dallas in 2023.
Staff writer David Moore contributed to this post.
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