The Dallas Cowboys may be headed into Week 6 without two more defensive pieces, and both of them sound like true longshots to suit up against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters Friday that cornerback Cobie Durant and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown are both dealing with hamstring injuries and are currently “longshots” to play. That’s another hit for a defense that has already been trying to patch things together all season.
Overshown’s situation has lingered for a while. He was hurt in the Week 1 loss to the New York Giants and still hasn’t made it back onto the field.
There was at least some hope he might return in Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but when that didn’t happen on Thursday Night Football, the focus shifted to Week 6. Overshown was limited in practice on Thursday, but Schottenheimer’s update one day later cooled that optimism fast.
Since being selected out of Texas, Overshown has flashed the kind of impact the Cowboys need, but staying available has been the problem.
Durant’s injury is newer. He went down in Week 2 after being accidentally stepped on by safety Markquese Bell, and now he’s also being treated as unlikely to play. That’s especially relevant for a Dallas secondary that has been one of the team’s biggest issues.
The Cowboys are still searching for answers on the back end. Joey Porter Jr. is expected to have a bigger role this weekend, but the problems don’t stop there.
DaRon Bland has not looked like himself, and the Cowboys have not been able to rely on him the way they once did. Shavon Revel Jr. also hasn’t done enough to force his way into a starting job.
If Dallas does get Durant back soon, there’s at least a case that he could help stabilize things. The free-agent addition joined the Cowboys after spending 2025 with the Los Angeles Rams, where he played in 17 games and made 15 starts. In the regular season, he logged three interceptions and seven pass deflections, then added three more picks and seven pass breakups in three playoff games.
Even in his limited work with Dallas, Durant has posted a PFF grade of 55.6, which tops Bland’s 45.3 and Revel’s 41.7. With the defense still looking for answers, getting Durant back would count as a real boost.
In Other News...
Troy Aikmans ESPN Future Suddenly Feels Much Less Certain
Troy Aikman has at least clarified one part of the picture around his ESPN future: he plans to keep broadcasting through the current season before becoming a free agent. The Hall of Fame quarterback addressed the chatter during a radio interview, where he was asked about rumors of tension with Joe Buck and the uncertainty surrounding the networks top booth.
Aikman did not get into specifics about any reported friction, and he made clear he is not sure what comes next after this season. For Cowboys fans who still follow one of the most prominent voices linked to the franchises past, the bigger story now is not what he said about the rumors so much as how open-ended his broadcasting path has become. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Is Running Out Of Time To Seize The NFC East
Five weeks into the 2026 season, the NFC East looks wide open, and that creates both opportunity and pressure for the Cowboys. With no clear class of the division emerging from Dallas, Philadelphia, New York or Washington, Jerry Jones still has room to keep shaping the roster after adding cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and bringing in coach Mike Pettine, moves that suggest the front office is not treating this stretch like a finished product.
Dallas still has salary cap space and draft picks to work with, which means there is time to make another swing if Jones decides the roster needs it. The bigger question now is whether the Cowboys can turn all that flexibility into wins before the division slips away, especially with speculation already building around Brian Schottenheimers future depending on how this season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Linked To Shedeur Sanders In Trade Buzz That Raises Questions
Shedeur Sanders decision to hire Adie von Gontard of Young Money APAA Sports has only added to the chatter around the Browns quarterback as the NFL trade deadline approaches. Any move would naturally draw attention, and in this case Dallas got pulled into the conversation because it is Dallas, where every quarterback rumor seems to land with extra weight.
CBS Sports John Breech was among those to float the Cowboys as a possible fit, citing Jerry Jones long-standing connection with Deion Sanders as part of the logic. Even so, the football case for a deal is thin right now, since the Cowboys already have established backup quarterbacks and no obvious need to chase another arm, which makes the speculation interesting more for the name recognition than for the odds of an actual trade. [Read more 🡒]