FRISCO, Texas — Jonathan Mingo had a man-to-man conversation with Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer after the last game of the 2025 season, and the Dallas Cowboys receiver said Wednesday that the assignment out of it was to learn every spot in the offense.
Schottenheimer told Mingo what he needed him to do, and Mingo said that is what he has been focusing on since.
“We had a real conversation at the end of the year after the last game. It was a man-to-man conversation. He thought I needed to work on, kind of, some things, but he told me what he needed me to do,” Mingo said. “So just trying to learn the whole offense, knowing every spot in case somebody goes down, somebody needs a break. That’s what he challenged me to do, so that’s what I’ve been focusing on.”
Mingo started when he first got into the league, and he said the different roles since have been frustrating.
“I’m used to playing. I was starting when I first got in the league, so playing different roles can be a little frustrating,” Mingo explained. “So I’m trying to get back to my role, being on the field, making plays, and trying to get back to my old self.”
Jonathan Mingo On Being Healthy Again
Mingo said he went through a lot last year getting hurt and spent the offseason getting his body right.
“I feel healthy. Went through a lot last year getting hurt,” Mingo said. “Tried to get healthy this offseason. I got my body better off, so I feel healthy coming into camp.”
Health and the roster are the same question, in his view. Mingo said a player who is not healthy is not going to be on the team.
A groin injury limited him through the offseason program this spring. He scored his first touchdown in a Cowboys uniform on Aug. 22 at Arizona, a 53-yard catch with 3:43 left in the first quarter. He hasn’t scored a regular season touchdown in his NFL career.
Learning A Second NFL Offense
Dallas is the second NFL offense Mingo has learned. He has been in it since the middle of the 2024 season, and Schottenheimer took over as head coach the following January.
“It’s a nice offense. Sometimes a lot of coaches, they got the same formation names, but they mean different things,” Mingo said. “We got my own formation in Carolina. So just trying to get past offenses out of my head. I got the offense going pretty good.”
Carolina drafted Mingo in the second round in 2023, 39th overall from Ole Miss. Dallas traded for him on Nov. 5, 2024. Mingo said he did not know Dak Prescott was hurt when the trade happened, and that he had been looking forward to building chemistry with him.
Mingo played 80 offensive snaps for Dallas in 2025, 6.75% of the team’s total, and 45 on special teams. This is the last year of his rookie contract, a four-year deal worth $8.86 million, and he agreed this offseason to remove an $812,000 workout bonus from it.
He caught 43 passes for 418 yards with 14 starts as a rookie in Carolina, then 12 catches for 121 yards over nine games in 2024 before the trade. He is listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds at the 2023 combine.
Friday’s finale against New Orleans kicks off at 7 p.m. CT at AT&T Stadium on CBS locally. Rosters must be at 53 players by 5 p.m. CT Sunday, Aug. 30.
