The Dallas Cowboys held their first padded practice of training camp on Monday. Unfortunately, they quickly suffered a tough injury.
Jul 29, 2026; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer at training camp press conference at River Ridge Playing Fields.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The return of football is always exciting, but it’s also inevitably a reminder of how brutal the sport is. For the Dallas Cowboys, that reminder came Monday when the offense suffered a season-ending injury.
Brian Schottenheimer announced tight end Princeton Fant suffered a torn ACL and a partial tear to his MCL. He revealed Fant will have surgery in a couple of weeks.
“Really disappointed for (Fant),” Schottenheimer told reporters. “For everything that he’s put into this. Obviously he was very disappointed.”
Fant was carted off the field on Monday’s practice, the first practice in pads of Cowboys training camp this year.
Schottenheimer has message for Cowboys TE
The news is unfortunate for Fant, who is entering his fourth year in the NFL. Though he’s been on and off the Cowboys’ 53-man roster since his rookie year in 2023, he has always remained a practice squad guy.
His versatility at the position makes him a valuable depth piece. Schottenheimer doesn’t believe Fant’s career is over just yet.
“I told him ‘hey look, your story is far from over,” Schottenheimer shared. “He’s been through this injury before. The doctors feel real good about the chance of him making a full recovery.”
Ahead of this season, Fant was a longshot to make the 53-man roster. After the injury, the Cowboys tight end position will be made up by Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, Brevyn Spann-Ford, and undrafted free agents Michael Trigg and D.J. Rogers.
Schottenheimer also announced safety P.J. Locke will work back into practice Tuesday. Locke suffered a knee injury earlier in training camp. On Monday, he indicated Jalen Thompson (hip) is “doing great” while Zion Childress (hamstring) will take longer to return.
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