DeMarvion Overshown’s return might be just around the corner, and the Cowboys could soon be facing a good kind of headache.
Brian Schottenheimer said the linebacker is nearing a comeback after missing the last four games with a hamstring injury, and Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers is now in play. Still, the Cowboys sound ready to play it carefully with one of their most explosive defenders.
"We're not going to rush him back. He's working tremendously hard to come back ...
No setbacks. The [hamstring injuries] are different, they are tricky.
He's a powerful, athletic, muscular guy. At the end of the day, you got to feel right to go run-and-hit the way he likes to run-and-hit," Schottenheimer said via Nick Harris.
Overshown’s latest setback came in the loss to the New York Giants, even though he had already flashed what he can do in Week 1 with seven tackles before going down. It’s the latest chapter in an injury-heavy career for the 2023 third-round pick, who has played only 20 games after dealing with multiple knee injuries before this hamstring problem.
When Overshown has been healthy, the production has been impossible to ignore. In 2024, he piled up 90 tackles, added five sacks and even scored a pick-six across 13 games.
But his return won’t be simple for Dallas. Rookie Jaishawn Barham has taken over as the starter next to Dee Winters and has been one of the defense’s bright spots.
Through five games, Barham has posted 28 tackles, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble, while Winters has 35 tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Even with those numbers, Barham has looked like the more disruptive player and brings a ceiling that may be even higher than Overshown’s right now.
That leaves the Cowboys with a real decision once Overshown is ready. The cleanest fit may be keeping Barham in the starting role and letting Overshown slide in alongside him, with the next question being who handles the green dot and the defensive communication duties. One option is to leave Barham where he’s been thriving and let Overshown replace Winters.
Either way, the Cowboys have time-sensitive lineup work to do. And if Overshown is back soon, they’ll be figuring it out with two inside linebackers worthy of the job.
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