The Dallas Cowboys‘ training camp opens July 29 and runs through Aug. 21 at River Ridge in Oxnard, California. Jake Ferguson caught 82 passes last season, exactly what Dallas hoped for after handing him a four-year, $52 million deal. But the numbers behind those catches tell a different story.

Ferguson is heading into year two of that contract, with $30 million guaranteed. At the time, the deal made him the seventh-highest-paid tight end in football, and honestly, it didn’t feel like a stretch. He’d earned it. Then the season actually happened. His yards after the catch kept sliding for a third straight year, and three separate fumbles showed up at moments the Cowboys really couldn’t afford them. Those costly fumbles only magnified the doubts.

Now, with camp right around the corner, Dallas has to figure out whether that money is buying what they thought it was.

To understand why they paid him in the first place, it’s useful to look back. Dak Prescott and Ferguson’s chemistry has always been real. He was the team’s second-leading receiver in 2023, catching 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns, which earned him a Pro Bowl selection.

“I love the seam ball. He loves throwing it,” Ferguson said of Prescott, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota on X last offseason.

However, Prescott’s involvement took a turn in 2024 when a torn hamstring cut his season short after only eight games. Without him on the field, there appeared to be no doubt about the fact that 2025 was going to be the year for Ferguson to pick right where he had left off.

But the average yards after catch continued to trend downward. Ferguson averaged 7.7 yards per reception in 2022, 5.6 in 2023–24, and just 3.8 last year, a steady decline that ranked him 20th among 23 tight ends with 60+ targets, per Pro Football Focus.

The fumbles didn’t help his case either. Bloggin’ the Boys writer Brandon Loree put it bluntly toward the end of the season.

“Jake Ferguson is officially a liability when it comes to fumbling,” Bloggin’ the Boys Brandon Loree wrote on X. “Doing it way too often.”

And it wasn’t just Ferguson struggling in isolation. The entire tight end room had a rough go of it, with Dallas averaging just 7.8 yards per reception at the position, worst in the league. Ferguson himself only managed 7.3 yards per catch.

None of this erases what Ferguson has shown he’s capable of. But as camp opens in Oxnard, the Cowboys aren’t just watching for reps and chemistry. They’re watching to see if the version of Ferguson that earned $52 million shows back up.

The Dallas Cowboys head to 2026 training camp

Camp opens July 29 in Oxnard, and this year brings a real shift on defense. Christian Parker takes over as coordinator, bringing a 3-4 scheme with him.

The pass rush carries the most pressure, headlined by the trade for Rashan Gary from Green Bay. Linebacker is thinner than you’d like, and DeMarvion Overshown needs to prove he can stay healthy given his injury history. There’s good news on the back end, though.

The secondary looks improved thanks to free agent additions like safety Jalen Thompson and corner Cobie Durant, plus first-round pick Caleb Downs. Nobody’s expecting a return to the old ‘Doomsday defense’ overnight, just meaningful improvement.

George Pickens is playing for the first time under a franchise tag worth $27.3 million, and clearly the organization is looking to evaluate him better before locking him up. The future of the offensive line is with left tackle Tyler Guyton, who is entering his third season but has had injury issues. He showed improvement in his second season before being injured but suffered a high ankle sprain in 2025 that knocked him out for the rest of the season.

Left guard Tyler Smith will probably keep his spot as long as he can stay healthy. Cornerback DaRon Bland, who underwent offseason foot surgery, is expected to return, as is Shavon Revel Jr., who tore his ACL and was out in 2025.

Bottom line, this camp is less about star power and more about whether the pieces already in place can hold up.