The Cowboys lose John Stephens Jr. to a season-ending injury

FRISCO, Texas – The season is now over for John Stephens Jr. after the young tight end suffered a serious knee injury in practice on Wednesday as the Dallas Cowboys continue their preparation for their game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.

Stephens suffered a torn ACL for the second time in as many seasons, the first coming in 2023 when he sat out the preseason and then struggled through a season that became a redshirt season on injured reserve.

He will now return to IR for 2024 – the latest in a growing series of injuries in Dallas.

“I’m very disappointed,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think for a guy in that moment you could just feel the energy being sucked out of training. We can't say enough about him. He is a young man with a very bright future but unfortunately this is just another setback.”

“It’s just the work he puts in. He's here every day. He did everything that was asked of him and to be honest we tried to get him more work after the break week. “We planned to give him more work.”

“Just a very unfortunate injury.”

Stephens, an undrafted free agent signed after the 2023 NFL Draft, quickly made a name for himself over the course of his first summer with the Cowboys, earning more and more reps in training camp and the preseason before his initial injury resolved conversation that was dominated by his potential to be an impactful target in the red zone.

That was again the conversation between the coaching staff upon his return to training camp this year, and even though he hadn't made his debut for the Cowboys in the first six games, he continued to strive for it.

The former TCU and Louisiana prospect will now have to hope for better opportunities in his third season after enduring another very long and arduous road to recovery.