{"id":163971,"date":"2026-03-14T10:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T10:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=163971"},"modified":"2026-03-14T10:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T10:08:11","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8breaking-hes-back-the-cowboys-had-an-epic-change-of-heart-bringing-back-a-guy-they-dumped-just-8-weeks-ago-this-is-wild-what-led-to-the-surprising-decision-and-what-does-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=163971","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: HE\u2019S BACK! The Cowboys had an EPIC change of heart, bringing back a guy they DUMPED just 8 weeks ago. This is WILD! What led to the surprising decision, and what does it mean for the Cowboys&#8217; playoff hopes? Fans are left in shock! \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2168285049-e1773426600965.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Image\" \/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<p>For three seasons,\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0tight end\u00a0Princeton Fant\u00a0has been on the fringe of the team\u2019s roster, a reliable special teams presence who often shuttles between the practice squad and the gameday roster. He was a running back when he entered college at Tennessee, but made the switch to tight end and signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2023.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_1\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_1_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fant has played 14 total offensive snaps in his career, and played in only one game last season, logging 11 special teams snaps. Thus when the Cowboys released Fant in January, it appeared that his time on the fringe of the Dallas roster was over. But that changed on Friday when the team did, in fact, move to sign Fant back, though it still could be a long slog for him to make it to the team\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_2\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_2_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As the\u00a0USA Today site Cowboys Wire noted, \u201cAt 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Fant has managed to do just enough to stick around in Dallas but has been stuck at the bottom of the depth chart, most recently behind starter\u00a0Jake Ferguson,\u00a0Luke Schoonmaker, and\u00a0Brevyn Spann-Ford\u00a0in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_3\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_3_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Cowboys Have Been Bringing Back Offensive Players<\/h2>\n<p>While we knew that the Cowboys would focus on defense during this\u00a0NFL\u00a0free agency period, it\u2019s still strange to say that Fant is only the third offensive player the Cowboys have made a move on this week. The Cowboys brought in new reserve quarterback\u00a0Sam Howell\u00a0(and released Will Grier), and signed a backup offensive lineman, Matt Hennessy.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_4\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_4_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Previously, the Cowboys had re-signed running back\u00a0Javonte Williams\u00a0and put the franchise tag on star receiver\u00a0George Pickens. They also gave a second-round reserve tender to TJ Bass, indicating their intention to keep him in place.<\/p>\n<div id=\"js_adsconex_parallax_1\" class=\"\" data-type=\"parallax\">\n<div class=\"adsconex-parallax_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"adsconex-parallax_ad-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"adsconex-parallax_ad\" align=\"center\">\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_inpage_1\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/inpage_1_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2168285049-e1773426600965.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At this point, though, the offense has seen only two new additions, and the return of Fant after his release.<\/p>\n<h2>Cowboys Defense Adding Personnel<\/h2>\n<p>The Cowboys defense has been a different story. New defensive coordinator Christian Parker is changing the team\u2019s defensive look, and the front office vowed to upgrade the talent to match. Whether that\u2019s been accomplished can be argued, no doubt.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_5\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_5_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Here\u2019s where things stand in terms of additions there, with two notable subtractions after the trades of Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Traded for edge rusher Rashan Gary<\/li>\n<li>Signed safety Jalen Thompson<\/li>\n<li>Signed safety P.J. Locke<\/li>\n<li>Signed DT Otito Ogbonnia<\/li>\n<li>Signed edge rusher Tyrus Wheat<\/li>\n<li>Signed CB Cobie Durant<\/li>\n<li>Re-signed edge rusher Sam Williams<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>More Moves Coming?<\/h2>\n<p>The Cowboys did net a third-round pick from the\u00a049ers\u00a0in the trade for Odighizuwa, as well as significant salary savings\u2013San Francisco is taking on Odighizuwa\u2019s contract. That could open up some trade possibilities for the Cowboys.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_6\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_6_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, team owner Jerry Jones hinted as much.<\/p>\n<p>Said Jones,\u00a0via the Forth Worth Star-Telegram: \u201cVery tough [to trade Odighizuwa] to some degree, he has such high character. He\u2019s done such an amazing job in his career. [Some might say] well, aren\u2019t you going the wrong way when people of his quality, his caliber, aren\u2019t on the team? But that\u2019s the reason we were able to get what we thought was a really beneficial result for the team. We got [a third-round draft pick] that\u2019ll be very helpful to us, and \u2026 let\u2019s just put those resources that we\u2019re going to spend there [at] some other spots we need help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For three seasons,\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0tight end\u00a0Princeton Fant\u00a0has been on the fringe of the team\u2019s roster, a reliable special teams presence who often shuttles between the practice squad and&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":163974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: HE\u2019S BACK! The Cowboys had an EPIC change of heart, bringing back a guy they DUMPED just 8 weeks ago. This is WILD! What led to the surprising decision, and what does it mean for the Cowboys&#039; playoff hopes? Fans are left in shock! \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=163971\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: HE\u2019S BACK! The Cowboys had an EPIC change of heart, bringing back a guy they DUMPED just 8 weeks ago. This is WILD! What led to the surprising decision, and what does it mean for the Cowboys&#039; playoff hopes? 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