Cowboys set to welcome a familiar face on MNF vs. Texans

Dalton Schultz, who spent the first five years of his career with the Cowboys, returns to Arlington to face his former team as a member of the Houston Texans.

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The Dallas Cowboys (3-6) are gearing up for a Week 11 Monday Night Football matchup against the AFC South-leading Houston Texans (6-4).

Dallas will face a familiar name in former tight end Dalton Schultz, who will be lining up against his old team for the first time since his departure following the 2022 season.

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Schultz, who spent the first five years of his career in Dallas (2018-2022), has since moved on to the Texans where he signed a one-year deal during the 2023 offseason.

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The Stanford product was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round, with the 137th overall pick, in the 2018 NFL Draft. Dallas needed a tight end following the retirement of future Hall of Famer Jason Witten. In his first season, Schultz started in seven games.

After his rookie season, Schultz was expected to receive more playing time; however, Witten's decision to un-retire and return to the Cowboys limited his opportunities, and he did not start any games in 2019.

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Following Witten's departure in 2020 and an ACL tear to former Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin during the 2020 season opener, Schultz seized his opportunity and excelled.

The 6-foot-5, 242-pound tight end became a reliable target for quarterback Dak Prescott. Between 2020 and 2022, Schultz recorded 198 receptions, 2,000 yards, and 17 touchdowns.

Dak Prescott connects with Dalton Schultz for the pair's SECOND TD 🎯🎯

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/Jf7lEVxTd7

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 17, 2023

After playing under the franchise tag in 2022 and not reaching an agreement on a new contract, Schultz left the Cowboys as a free agent during the 2023 offseason and signed with the Lone Star rival located four hours south of I-45.

Now, as a member of the Texans, Schultz has played a key role in the development of the teams stand out quarterback C. J. Stroud. In his first season with Houston, Schultz totaled 59 receptions for 635 yards and five touchdowns.

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Following the 2023 season, the native of Sandy, Utah signed a three-year, $36 million contract extension to remain in Houston and will return to AT&T Stadium to face his former team for the first time since leaving.

Earlier this year, the former Cowboy appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and discussed his time playing for America's Team and how the Cowboys' atmosphere brought many unnecessary distractions onto themselves.

"Going back and telling some people [about the] Cowboys ... describing some of the interactions and stuff that you see on a day-to-day basis, surprised a lot of people," Schultz said. "There’s people literally going on tours while you’re lifting in the weight room. And they’ve got a one-way mirror for people to like look at, it’s literally a zoo, dude."

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Having traded Cowboys blue for Texans red, Schultz offered his opinion after experiencing the culture and operations of another organization.

"That’s the brand that they’ve built, that’s what Jerry Jones likes, Schultz said. "That’s the way that they run things, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just you don’t realize how many eyeballs and how much that can maybe distract from stuff just in a locker room being in the facility until you go somewhere else, and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, dude, there’s none of that.’"

The two franchises will face off for the seventh time during Monday Night Football. Dallas leads the all-time series 4-2 and won the most recent matchup against the Texans, 27-23, during Week 14 of the 2022 season.

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