Cowboys fear torn ACL for promising rookie

The Cowboys fear that third-round rookie linebacker DeMarvion Overshown tore his ACL during Saturday night’s preseason loss to the Seahawks, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. The club will know the full extent of the damage after an MRI.

Overshown suffered the injury while making an open-field tackle of Seattle running back Zach Charbonnet during the first quarter of the game. An ACL tear, of course, would mean that he would miss the entirety of his first professional season, which would be an especially difficult blow given that he appeared ticketed for a significant role right out of the gate.

On paper, Dallas’ linebacking corps is the weakest part of its defense, which meant that there would be plenty of opportunity for Overshown to establish himself as at least a key rotational player and special teams contributor. He had put together an impressive training camp and was seen as an ascending talent.

Leighton Vander Esch, who re-upped with the Cowboys on a two-year, $11M contract in March, will likely operate as Dallas’ starter at middle linebacker (despite some recent run as an edge defender). Lining up next to him will be recent Day 3 draft choices Damone Clark (fifth round, 2022), Devin Harper (sixth round, 2022), and Jabril Cox (fourth round, 2021), all of whom will see an uptick in playing time if Overshown is indeed out for the year.

“You never want to see any of your guys get hurt, that’s what’s so tough about these preseason games,” McCarthy said, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “We had a couple of young guys go down, you say your prayers and hopefully the imaging points in the right direction. He’s had an incredible camp, we’ve talked about him almost every other day. I just hope he’s OK.”

Overshown, a Texas product, received First Team All-Big 12 acclaim following his final season with the Longhorns, a season in which he compiled 96 tackles (10 TFL), four sacks and five passes defensed.