Cowboys Bench $50 Million Pro Bowler After Costly Mistakes

Ferguson, who is on a four-year, $50 million contract, has struggled all season. He has 15 catches for 102 yards in five games.

That’s not to say that Ferguson was completely benched, but clearly, the Cowboys are seeking more accountability for players who have disappointed this far this season. The team came into 2026 talking about the Super Bowl and confident about its ability to contend in the NFC, but has been a massive disappointment through five games. While most of that disappointment has been on the defensive side, the play of Ferguson, as well as right tackle Terence Steele, has been problematic.

As longtime beat writer Clarence Hill of DLLS Cowboys wrote on Twitter/X: “Brevyn Spann Ford was announced as the starter at tight end over Jake Ferguson…That happened.”

Ferguson was rated as the No. 10 tight end in football back in 2023 by Pro Football Focus, but has steadily declined since. This year, he has a rating of 49.0, which is 75th out of 81 tight ends in the game.

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney