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Juanyeh Thomas

Cowboys Activate LB DeMarvion Overshown, CB Shavon Revel

November 14th, 2025 at 5:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 14: Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones confirmed on 105.3 The Fan (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) that Revel would make his NFL debut on Monday, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. Overshown is expected to be on a pitch count, per Machota, though the 25-year-old linebacker said that he wanted to be on the field when “a play needs to be made.”

NOVEMBER 11: The Cowboys’ defense has been one of the NFL’s worst units this year, to the point the team made two deadline-day deals — for Logan Wilson and Quinnen Williams — to help stabilize it. When those two players debut with Dallas, the team will have more reinforcements en route.

DeMarvion Overshown and Shavon Revel are moving onto the 53-man roster Tuesday, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The Cowboys will activate the third-year linebacker from the reserve/PUP list and the rookie third-round cornerback from the reserve/NFI list.

Each player’s 21-day activation clock would have expired today, a season-ending development, had the Cowboys not followed through with the expected activations. Both are expected to debut against the Raiders in Week 11, per WFAA’s Ed Werder. The team also placed safety Juanyeh Thomas on the reserve/non-football illness list, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson adds.

Overshown is coming back from a severe knee injury sustained in December 2024. The 2023 draftee has suffered two ACL tears since entering the NFL. Revel has been on the shelf since September 2024 after sustaining an ACL tear during his final East Carolina season. Next to nothing has gone right for the Cowboys’ defense this season, but the unit having four starter-level cogs returning at once does stand to provide a boost — as the club attempts to mount a last-ditch wild-card push.

While the topic of a 3-5-1 team being a deadline buyer has generated considerable debate, the Cowboys made that move by piecing together a surprising trade package — a 2027 first-rounder (the higher of Dallas’ two firsts), a 2026 second and defensive tackle Mazi Smith — to obtain Williams. As Williams will take his place as a D-line starter, Overshown has a path back to a first-string role at linebacker. He and Wilson will be tasked with helping that unit, which has been a low-priority position in Dallas for a while.

Week 11 has loomed as Overshown’s return point for a bit; he went down in Week 14 last season. In addition to suffering his second ACL tear as a pro, Overshown sustained MCL and PCL tears to lengthen his recovery timetable. A 2023 third-round pick, Overshown played well in a 13-game sample last season. He registered 90 tackles (eight for loss) and came through with an impressive five sacks despite manning an off-ball LB role in Mike Zimmer‘s defense. Overshown has now had three weeks to practice in Matt Eberflus‘ defense.

Pro Football Focus ranks both Kenneth Murray and Shemar James as bottom-10 linebackers (among qualified options) this season. The Cowboys have Jack Sanborn on IR as well. Wilson and Overshown should see immediate playing time, though it would not surprise if the latter is brought along slowly. Still, this represents a key stretch for Overshown, who will need to show sustained health if a lucrative second contract — from the Cowboys or another team — is considered. He has missed 30 games through 2 1/2 seasons.

Revel’s debut was expected to commence earlier than Week 11. A return within the Cowboys’ first five games was viewed as likely, with an earlier report pegging September as in play. It would then stand to reason for Revel to be brought along slowly as well. Though, it will be interesting to see how cautious the Cowboys will be with both recovering talents, as they are in danger of falling out of playoff contention — largely because of the defense’s struggles.

Viewed as a first-round talent before his injury, Revel still declared for the draft after his lost final college season. His return comes at an opportune time, as Trevon Diggs is on IR with a concussion. Diggs and DaRon Bland have struggled to stay healthy, and the Cowboys have fared poorly in coverage this season. Revel’s usage will be interesting to follow. While Diggs is more likely than not to be cut in 2026, Bland and Revel profile as a potential long-term tandem.

Cowboys Designate Malik Hooker For Return

November 13th, 2025 at 3:47pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Cowboys designated safety Malik Hooker to return from injured reserve on Thursday, per a team announcement.

Hooker, 29, started the first four games of the season (alongside Donovan Wilson, his running mate for the last four years) before a toe injury landed him on IR. That started a shuffle of safeties in Dallas, which, along with their cornerback injuries, has contributed to their bottom-five pass defense.

Juanyeh Thomas replaced Hooker in Weeks 5 and 6 before he was sidelined by recurrent migraines. Markquese Bell started next to Wilson in Week 7, but Wilson suffered an elbow injury in that game. That pressed undrafted rookie Alijah Clark into action for his first career start the following week. Thomas’ condition briefly improved, allowing him to start with Bell in Week 9, but he was placed on the non-football illness list shortly after.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said last week that he is hoping that both Hooker and Wilson can play in Week 11. The Cowboys are set to play the Cardinals on Monday Night Football, so their starting safeties will have an extra day to practice.

Hooker, a former first-round pick, dealt with a handful of injuries in Indianapolis during his first four NFL seasons. He only missed four games across his first four years in Dallas before his toe issue this season.

The veteran’s return should help a cowboys pass defense that has struggled this year. Dallas has allowed the fourth-most yards per attempt and per game this year. They seem to have made some progress in the last few weeks, though they have faced an easier slate of opponents.

Hooker will have 21 days to practice with the team before he must be activated to the 53-man roster. Otherwise, he will revert to season-ending injured reserve.

Cowboys Place S Malik Hooker On IR

October 4th, 2025 at 1:09pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Cowboys placed safety Malik Hooker on injured reserve on Saturday, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota.

Hooker started the team’s first four contests of the season before exiting last week’s game against the Packers with a toe injury. Now, he will be out for at least four games and will be eligible to return in Week 9.

The eight-year veteran has gotten off to a rough start in 2025, allowing a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He has been better as a run defender, consistently playing downhill to meet ballcarriers in the hole and missing just one of his 16 tackles.

Hooker will be replaced in the starting lineup by Juanyeh Thomas, who closed out the game in Week 4. The 2023 UDFA has been a depth safety and core special teams player during his three years in Dallas, so starting in Hooker’s absence is a major opportunity.

The Cowboys also signed safety Alijah Clark to the active roster from the practice squad. The undrafted rookie will further reinforce the secondary while helping out on special teams as well. Wideouts Jalen Brooks and Jalen Cropper were both elevated from the practice squad for Week 5 to bolster a receiving room that will be without CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin on Sunday.

Cowboys’ DaRon Bland Working At Slot CB; Jalen Ramsey Not On Team’s Radar

May 30th, 2025 at 8:51pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cowboys are dealing with a number of injuries at the cornerback position and, as a result, they have one of their best cornerbacks working outside of his usual position. Last week, Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News reported that All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland had been working out as a slot cornerback at Organized Team Activities.

The team’s other usual starting corner, Trevon Diggs, is currently dealing with an injury and doesn’t have a clear timeline for his return, but it’s assumed at the moment that he will not be back for the start of training camp and may not be ready when the regular season rolls around. Additionally, third-round rookie Shavon Revel fell as far as he did, despite potential first-round talent, because of a torn ACL that forced him to miss most of his final season at East Carolina. While Revel could make his way back by camp, he’s not been available so far this summer.

These absences are not helpful at a time when the team is looking to fill a nickelback role that it had perfectly squared away in 2024. Last year, Jourdan Lewis played 606 snaps in the slot, and the next closest player didn’t even reach 100 snaps. Lewis, though, departed for Jacksonville in free agency, so now Dallas will need to find someone to replace him.

After Lewis, the next six players with the most slot snaps in 2024 were safeties and linebackers. Diggs was the next closest corner, and he only saw 28 snaps at nickel; Bland was the next cornerback with 16. Two of those safeties were starters Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, so they’re not really options to take the role, but the third safety was backup Israel Mukuamu, who could be also an option to step up there in 2025. Watkins noted that another backup safety, Juanyeh Thomas, saw some work in the slot during OTAs, as well.

Bland prefers to play at outside cornerback, and there’s two good reasons why. The first, and most obvious, is that he’s played extremely well there. In his first two seasons, Bland reeled in 14 interceptions, returning five for touchdowns in 2023 alone. Last year didn’t see the same returns as he came back from a foot surgery that caused him to miss 10 games, but he still saw five passes defensed and graded out favorably, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), in comparison to his teammates.

The second reason is that he’s heading into the final year of his rookie deal. Especially after the injury-limited season he delivered last year, Bland is going to want to make the most of his 2025 campaign, and he’ll want to do so at the more lucrative position as a boundary cornerback, a position at which he’s shown extreme aptitude. Per Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS, new head coach Brian Schottenheimer understands where Bland’s coming from but told the media that “it is still early” and that “they don’t have all their guys out there” at the moment, so versatility is necessary.

Watkins claims that the ‘Boys have two problems to solve this summer: “another starter opposite Bland and slot corner.” One option that the team has seemingly ruled out is Dolphins trading chip Jalen Ramsey. Per Hill, a source with the team claimed that “there is nothing to the” rumors that Ramsey could be traded to Dallas.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/3/25

March 4th, 2025 at 9:37pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

More teams made tender/non-tender decisions on restricted and exclusive rights free agents today. Here are the latest updates:

RFAs

Non-tendered: 

Despite 48 appearances, 19 starts, and 1,794 total snaps over the last three years, the Bears will not tender Sanborn, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. While not considered a starting defender, Sanborn could draw interest in free agency as a backup linebacker and core special teams contributor.

ERFAs

Tendered: 

Non-tendered:

Hoffman started the Cowboys’ last seven games of the 2024 season after Zack Martin went down for the season. He primarily played right guard, though he played 109 snaps at center and 19 at left guard, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Martin retired last month, so Hoffman will likely compete for a starting role in 2025 while earning $1.1MM.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/23/23

January 23rd, 2023 at 6:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s reserve/futures deals, mostly featuring teams recently eliminated from the postseason:

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/4/23

January 4th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

  • Placed on IR: S Juanyeh Thomas

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: OL George Moore, TE Hunter Thedford

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

Washington Commanders

  • Signed: LB Ferrod Gardner
  • Activated from IR: G Nolan Laufenberg

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC East

August 31st, 2022 at 2:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles and Giants moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Dallas Cowboys

Signed to practice squad:

New York Giants

Signed:

Released:

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Philadelphia Eagles

Claimed: 

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Washington Commanders

Released:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Cowboys Set 53-Man Roster

August 30th, 2022 at 7:49pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys got their roster down to 53 players today, and to get there, they cut all their backup QB options, their kicker, and their long snapper:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on reserve/NFI:

The Cowboys are currently rolling without a second QB behind Dak Prescott after the team moved on from Cooper Rush, Will Grier, and Ben DiNucci. Rush has the most experience of the group, appearing in 10 career games, including five appearances (one start) with Dallas in 2021. The 28-year-old finished last season having completed 30 of his 47 pass attempts for 422 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The Cowboys also aren’t rostering a kicker or long snapper at the moment, something that will certainly change over the next few days.

Special teams ace C.J. Goodwin could also land back on the active roster once the dust settles. Goodwin has spent the past four seasons in Dallas, and he hasn’t missed a game over the past three years. The 32-year-old finished last season with a career-high 10 tackles.

Cowboys Add 20 UDFAs

May 21st, 2022 at 9:51am CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys had one of the biggest UDFA classes in the NFL, signing 20 undrafted rookies to contracts:

Bell got a chunk of money to join the Cowboys, receiving $215K in guaranteed money, per PFF’s Doug Kyed (on Twitter). The Florida A&M product missed the 2020 campaign but returned for the 2021 season, finishing with 95 tackles and a pair of sacks. Bell has shown some ability to play on both sides of the ball, making him an intriguing prospect (and, presumably, a good fit for special teams).

Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that Empey got $110K in guaranteed money. The lineman was a four-year starter at BYU, although injuries limited him to only 15 combined appearances between the 2020 and 2021 seasons.