Dallas Cowboys elevate tight end Princeton Fant for Week 13 vs Seahawks

The Dallas Cowboys elevated tight end Princeton Fant on Thursday for tonight’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. Fant, a rookie, is cousins with Seahawks tight end Noah Fant who is in his fifth season in the league – second with Seattle. Elevating the rookie tight end means that Dallas will not activate Peyton Hendershot for the Thursday Night Football matchup.

Hendershot is still working his way back to the field following an ankle injury that sent him to Injured Reserve. He is practicing now, amid his 21-day practice window, but it appears his return won’t be in Week 13. He hasn’t played since Week 3. Next week, the Cowboys host their third game in a row, this one against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Fant made the Cowboys practice this summer as the team whittled down the active roster to get to the official 53-man limit. He was among 14 players re-signed after initial cuts. A Tennessee native, Fant starred for the Vols from 2019-2022. In his final, and most productive season, he had 22 catches for 241 yards and three touchdowns for Tennessee.

Prior to his move to IR, Peyton Hendershot was the No. 2 tight end on the depth chart behind Jake Ferguson. He had one reception for three yards, which came in the Week 3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Hendershot, an undrafted pickup out of Indiana now in his second season, had 11 catches, 103 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie. Even without him this week, the Cowboys still have Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker and Sean McKeon on the active roster.

Cowboys courting free agent LB Shaquille Leonard

The Dallas Cowboys hosted free agent linebacker Shaquille Leonard at The Star on Tuesday. Unfortunately for Jerry Jones, however, the Cowboys aren’t the only team in pursuit of the former All-Pro. The Philadelphia Eagles also hosted him for a visit this week. Now, he’ll reportedly make a decision about which team to join next over the weekend.

Leonard was released by the Indianapolis Colts last Tuesday in the midst of his sixth season with the team. Now, the decorated linebacker can potentially have a major impact on whichever team he joins.

Leonard was waived following frustrations with the team regarding his playing time, with Pro Football Reference revealing that he only played in 70% of the team’s defensive snaps when active this season. This year for Indianapolis, he has 65 tackles in his nine-game appearances.