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Cowboys TE Is Already on the Chopping Block Ahead of Training Camp

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The Dallas Cowboys will report to Oxnard, California, on July 21 for training camp to officially kick off the Brian Schottenheimer era.

They've made changes to both sides of the ball and look to redeem themselves after a disappointing 7-10 campaign.

Report: Cowboys' John Stephens Jr. tore his ACL at Wednesday's practice -  NBC Sports

Guys will need to impress the coaching staff to solidify their spot on the 53-man roster.

That said, one tight end who needs to step up, or risk being cut by the end of the summer, is John Stephens Jr.

John Stephens Jr. Is on Thin Ice for Cowboys

Stephens joined Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2023 after playing at WR during his college career at TCU and Louisiana. Despite being on the team for the last couple of years, he's suffered two torn ACLs, ending both his 2023 and 2024 campaigns.

Role Call: John Stephens Jr. Brings Size & Redzone Ability

The Cowboys have kept him signed while he rehabbed, but things aren't looking good this time around.

Dallas has Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, and Brevyn Spann-Ford ahead of him on the depth chart.

The biggest winner of the offseason so far is Spann-Ford, who received some first-team reps in minicamp before going back to the second and third team.

They also used a 2023 second-round pick on Schoonmaker, and the front office has high hopes for him, considering they used a top-60 asset to draft him. As for Ferguson, he's the clear starter going in 2025 and has shown he can be a reliable outlet in the passing attack. These three pass catchers have traits and tools that Dallas believes can blossom.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver John Stephens Jr. (49) celebrates scoring a  touchdown during an NFL football

Meanwhile, Stephens Jr. is coming off two major knee injuries, and the coaching staff who brought him in is no longer around. He's starting from scratch and is behind the eight ball.

In his college career, he reeled in 41 catches for 665 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Standing at 6-foot-5, he has the size to be a good red-zone target.

Despite having the size that could make him an appealing target, he's No. 4 on the depth chart. The three guys ahead of him with NFL experience have shown the team enough to keep them excited.

The same can't be said for Stephens Jr., making him a massive question mark going into training camp.

Packers could be staring down a hilarious QB revenge game nobody asked for
The Green Bay Packers need a win after a brutal loss followed by a tie, and they enter Week 6 fresh off the bye and heavy favorites against the Cincinnati Bengals.   Joe Burrow won't be leading his team to Lambeau Field on Sunday, and it's unclear if backup Jake Browning, who has started the past three games, will retain his job. He threw six touchdown passes with eight interceptions in an 0-3 run, and Bengals head coach Zac Taylor left the door open for a QB change. Cincinnati has a few options on the roster should Taylor decide to bench Browning. Believe it or not, one of them is former Packers quarterback Sean Clifford. Sean Clifford is in the mix to start vs. Packers in a hilarious revenge game The Packers won't mind facing Browning, who has been a turnover machine for the Bengals. He threw three interceptions against the Detroit Lions last week. But if Browning goes to the bench, Cincinnati will have to start one of Clifford, Brett Rypien, or Mike White. It opens the door for a hilarious revenge game. Forget Aaron Rodgers versus Green Bay in Week 8. Clifford might get his chance at revenge first. Clifford, a fifth-round pick by the Packers in 2023, spent his rookie season as Jordan Love's backup. The following summer, he competed with Michael Pratt for the QB2 job, with both losing out to Malik Willis after a last-minute trade. His demotion continued this past summer, with the Packers moving on entirely and signing Clayton Tune to replace him on the practice squad. Clifford struggled in consecutive preseasons. In his past six exhibition contests, he completed only 31 of 60 passes for 251 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, for a 61.2 passer rating. And that's in the preseason against (mostly) backups. In a regular-season game against this Packers defense? Look out. According to ESPN, the Bengals rank dead last in pass block win rate this season. That's music to the ears of Micah Parsons, Rashan Gary, and Lukas Van Ness. Handing Clifford his first career start in that matchup could be a disastrous decision by the Bengals. But they may not have much choice. Browning can't stop turning the ball over. Rypien has four career touchdowns to nine interceptions. In 2023, he started against the Packers while with the Minnesota Vikings, completing only 46.4 percent of his passes for 130 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception, while also fumbling twice. The Packers won 20-3. White offers the most experience, but he is 2-5 as a starter and has thrown nine touchdowns to 13 interceptions. In Clifford, the Bengals would have the unknown. A quarterback who, at the very least, would know the defense he's coming up against. Not that it would matter. It's decision time for Zac Taylor and the Bengals. The Packers are heavy favorites, and there's really no excuse for not leaving Lambeau with a 3-1-1 record. For now, it's unclear who will start at quarterback for the Bengals, but Taylor's hesitant answer about Browning has opened the door for the Clifford revenge game.