When the Dallas Cowboys take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, they'll welcome back tight end Jake Ferguson, who missed the last couple of matchups with a concussion suffered back in Week 11.
Ferguson's return is huge for the Cowboys offense, as he's proven to be a quarterback friendly target in a variety of ways, mainly due to his knack for finding yards after the catch. While this season has been inconsistent for Ferguson (just like it has for everyone on the Cowboys roster, to be fair), he remains the best tight end on the roster.
However, his return adds intrigue to the tight end room, which surprisingly found a rhythm with Ferguson out the last couple of games. Specifically, I wonder about what his return means for Luke Schoonmaker's and Brevyn Spann-Ford's snap counts.
Neither of the two depth players at tight end has been particularly flashy, but they've been productive on the Cowboys' limited offense and have had some eye-catching moments on film.
In last week's win over the New York Giants, Schoonmaker was involved with a team-high five catches for 33 yards and a 66% snap count. Meanwhile, Spann-Ford wasn't involved in the passing game but did still get a 50% snap count. They had similar numbers in Week 12, with snap counts of 66% and 42%, respectively, and a combined stat line of five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Schoonmaker has had a few rough moments run blocking this season but the pair's physicality was in display in plays like the one below, in which Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle cuts back to the strong side of the formation, where the tight ends open up a big hole for an explosive gain.
With Ferguson back, I wonder if Spann-Ford's snap count drops significantly or if it becomes more of a 50-50 split between he and Schoonmaker. The fact that Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy shared some praise for Luke earlier in the week might suggest it'll be the former.
"It's great to see (Schoonmaker) rewarded for all the extra work that he's put in, but he's definitely really stepped up since Fergie's been hurt," McCarthy told 105.3 The Fan.
With that being said, Spann-Ford has done his part and I'd hate to see his snap count get reduced to an almost irrelevant number. The coaching staff will continue to have some decisions to make at this position group.
On Monday Night Football, the entire Cowboys tight end room will get a chance to prove itself. But expect Ferguson's return to steal the spotlight on this one.
