Cowboys 2nd-year tight end Luke Schoonmaker to miss OTAs with hamstring injury
It is often said that the best ability is availability. As that pertains to tight end Luke Schoonmaker, we are in some serious trouble.
The Dallas Cowboys spent their second-round draft pick on Schoonmaker a year ago and then immediately saw Jake Ferguson emerge as a top-tier tight end ahead of him on the depth chart. As if that in itself did not make the pick look even stranger in hindsight, that Schoonmaker dealt with injuries throughout his rookie season also began to spell trouble.
Unfortunately his first offseason as a professional began with offseason shoulder surgery (like his collegiate teammate turned professional one Mazi Smith). Even more unfortunately is that this is apparently not the end of things. Schoonmaker is set to miss all of OTAs with a hamstring issue.
Cowboys TE Luke Schoonmaker has a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him throughout OTAs. He underwent shoulder surgery this offseason. Hamstring now what is keeping him off field. He missed his 2023 rookie spring with foot injury.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) May 22, 2024
The Schoonmaker pick immediately looked weird for the Cowboys and it has only aged poorly since it was made. We are still early in his career with the Cowboys, but at the moment there is hardly any return on investment.
Hopefully Schoonmaker heals up soon, but this could provide some opportunities for tight ends down the roster. Remember that they made UDFA tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford among the highest-paid undrafted free agents. His moment could come sooner than expected.