FRISCO, Texas — To the day, Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown knew just how long he had been off the football field because of torn anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee.
On Wednesday, Overshown practiced for the first time in 317 days. He has an eye on returning for the Nov. 17 game against the Las Vegas Raiders on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”
“Monday night primetime, zero will be making his debut,” said Overshown, who will become the first Cowboys player to wear No. 0 in a game. “I’m excited for it. It’s not going to be anything short of extraordinary. I’m ready to show truly how blessed I am.
“A lot of people claim that this knee injury is one of the worst of the worst and not too many people come back the same afterward. I’m ready to put that to the test.”
Overshown had 95 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback pressures, 4 pass breakups, a forced fumble and a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 13 games he played in 2024 before suffering the injury Dec. 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I kinda knew at that moment what was going on with my knee, so I didn’t look back,” Overshown said. “I said, ‘OK, this is what I’m dealing with. I don’t know the total damage done, but I know it’s something that I’m going to have to work back from.’
“I gotta have faith. That’s all it was, the main part. Like it was you have faith and belief that what’s done for you is going to be for you.”
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Overshown went through individual drills Wednesday, and he anticipates doing 11-on-11 drills on Thursday. The Cowboys have 21 days before needing to add him to the 53-man roster or keep him on the physically unable perform list for the season. The expectation is they will take the full time before making the decision.
“It’s basically training camp for me,” Overshown said.
After the injury, there was a thought that Overshown would miss the entire 2025 season, but he set a personal goal of being back by Thanksgiving.
Turns out he might beat that goal by 10 days.
Recent tests showed the ligaments are healed and the knee is structurally sound. The Cowboys will have five more practices over the next two weeks before heading to their bye on Nov. 9. Overshown will continue to work with the medical staff during the break and, if all goes well, he’ll be added to the roster.
Given the state of the Cowboys’ defense — 32nd in yards per game and 30th in points per game — Overshown is needed.
“Look, I ain’t going to go out there to try to do too much. I’m just going to do what I know I can do,” Overshown said. “When I get in between those lines, the sky’s the limit for me. I’m not saying that to be cocky or anything, but I know what I bring to the field. Hearing the things and seeing like, ‘Oh, we need D-Mo to be this when he comes back,’ or ‘We need D-Mo to do this,’ I ain’t worried about. I know what I bring to the table. I know what y’all saw last year and I know y’all going to get more of that, so it’s really no stress and no pressure on me to go back out and do anything.
“I know what I’m capable of. Last year was still me just getting my feet wet, so still really ain’t seen what all I can do.”
