DeMarvion Overshown closing in on return for Dallas Cowboys. When could he play?
The Dallas Cowboys are looking for any answer on the defensive side of the ball after a performance against the Carolina Panthers that exposed even more holes in their run and pass defense. While it will take a lot more than one player to fix the issues, help could be coming to the linebacker group soon.
Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who has been out with a torn ACL, PCL and LCL since last December, is nearing a return, according to head coach Brian Schottenheimer. When asked about when Overshown’s 21-day practice window could open up, Schottenheimer was optimistic about what’s ahead.
“In the next week or two I would think,” Schottenheimer said. “All signs are pointing to the next week or so, and I know he’s gotten some very good reviews, and so I think we’re getting pretty close.”
Overshown met with surgeon Neil ElAttrache in Los Angeles last week, according to a source close to Overshown, and the evaluation was “very positive.” He has returned to the Cowboys facility this week and is inching closer to being cleared to practice.
Per NFL rules, he has 21 days to practice without having to be put on the active roster from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. At the end of the window, he will have to be activated or put back on the PUP list for the rest of the season.
Factoring into the Overshown strategy is an upcoming bye week in three weeks. Although the Cowboys will not practice during their bye, per NFL rules, the bye week would still theoretically count toward the 21-day window.
“We take all of it into consideration,” Schottenheimer said. “All those things come into factor, because we have, like, what three games in 12 days and then three and 11 days or something like that. So, the practices at that point become limited, so that almost certainly factors in the decision-making process.”
After being drafted in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Texas, Overshown tore his ACL in the preseason of his rookie year and did not suit up for his first season in the league. In 2024, he was a defensive standout with 90 tackles, five sacks, eight tackles for loss and one interception return for a touchdown in 13 games.
In a Monday night battle with the Cincinnati Bengals, Overshown was rolled up on by Bengals center Ted Karras on a run play that tore the three ligaments in his knee.
Realistically, if his practice window is opened in the next two weeks, it would put him on pace to return for the Cowboys’ Monday night matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 17. The timeline during his recovery has put him on pace for a November return throughout the year. If he’s not ready for that game, the Cowboys will play four games in 17 days for him to get back on the field.
