Dallas tight end John Stephens Jr. tore his left ACL in practice on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday.

Stephens, who had not appeared in a game for the Cowboys (3-3) this season, missed the entire 2023 season after tearing the ACL in the same knee in the preseason and going on injured reserve.

The 26-year-old, who signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana in 2023, will be heading back to IR.

"I'm very disappointed," McCarthy said. "I think, to a man, you could just feel the energy sucked out of practice at that moment. We can't say enough about him. He's a young man with a very bright future, but this is just another setback, unfortunately.

"It's just the work that he's put in. He's here every day. He's done everything that's been asked of him and, frankly, we were trying to get him more work coming out of the bye week. We had plans to try and get him more involved.

"Just a very unfortunate injury."

--Field Level Media