{"id":22143,"date":"2025-05-06T11:51:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=22143"},"modified":"2025-05-06T11:51:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:51:34","slug":"can-the-cowboys-linebackers-hold-the-fort-until-agent-0-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=22143","title":{"rendered":"Can the Cowboys&#8217; linebackers hold the fort until Agent 0 returns?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/card_img\/1919710322962636800\/x-wXxW23?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"cowboysnation ready to be hurt again on X: &quot;Can the Cowboys' linebackers  hold the fort until Agent 0 returns? \u272d The latest injury update on Cowboys'  linebacker DeMarvion Overshown has Agent 0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The latest injury update on Cowboys\u2019 linebacker DeMarvion Overshown has Agent 0 on pace for a mid-season return.<\/p>\n<p>That puts a lot of pressure on the remaining eight linebackers on the depth chart. Yes, we know, Micah Parson is technically a linebacker, but he\u2019s more of a defensive end in Dallas\u2019 scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Which will beg the obvious question: Can the linebacker room hold up until Overshown returns?<\/p>\n<p>And that is assuming he comes back fully healthy and in his pre-injury form.<\/p>\n<p>This is the current depth chart at linebacker for the Cowboys in a 4-2-5 defensive set, per ourlads.com:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>WLB DeMarvion Overshown (INJ) \/ Marist Liufau \/ Shemar James \/ Buddy Johnson \/ Justin Barron<\/li>\n<li>MLB Kenneth Murray Jr. \/ Jack Sanborn \/ Damone Clark \/ Darius Harris<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With the departure of Eric Kendricks, and Overshown\u2019s injury, Marist Liufau and Damone Clark are the only two linebackers that have started for Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, the Cowboys attended to this issue prior to the draft. They traded with Tennessee to land Kenneth Murray and signed free agent Jack Sanborn, who had played in Chicago.<\/p>\n<p>Both linebackers have started many games and both are relatively young players.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas also shored up the position room in the draft. The Cowboys selected Shemar James out of Florida in the fifth round.<\/p>\n<h2>Who Will Be The Starters?<\/h2>\n<p>Liufau was actually pretty solid in his rookie year last year and should get one of the two slots. This leaves an interesting battle for the second.<\/p>\n<p>Sanborn is a former Bears player.<\/p>\n<p>The Cowboys\u2019 current defensive coordinator is Matt Eberflus. He was the head coach of the Chicago Bears last year.<\/p>\n<p>In his three years in the NFL, Sanborn has 19 starts out of 48 games played.<\/p>\n<p>But after two years of 60-plus tackle seasons, he slipped to just 35 tackles last year. He also started in just three games after a 10-start 2023 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Murray will be playing in his sixth year this fall.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTi2PUWdimFNOH9vyn3h4Sj0eiFa-VeVsMmHQ&amp;s\" alt=\"Can the Cowboys' linebackers hold the fort until Agent 0 returns?\" \/><\/p>\n<p>He started in 53 of the 59 games he played in for the Chargers before starting in all 14 games he played in for the Titans last year.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024, he had 95 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He sandwiched 100-plus tackle seasons, in his rookie and his fourth seasons, around two less-productive years in 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n<p>It will be interesting to see which of the two emerges as the middle linebacker this fall under Eberflus.<\/p>\n<p>But the one certainty is, even with Overshown out of action for several games, the linebacker group should be able to hold up. Assuming there are no more injuries.<\/p>\n<h2>Agent 0 Comeback<\/h2>\n<p>Most reports have Overshown missing the first eight games of 2025. But Overshown himself isn\u2019t ruling out being back for the season-opener.<\/p>\n<p>Overshown suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and PCL in his right knee last year in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals.<\/p>\n<p>In his rookie year in 2023, he never made it out of the preseason, tearing the ACL in his left knee against the Seahawks in Seattle.<\/p>\n<p>He bounced back from that initial injury and had been putting together a solid sophomore season, technically his rookie year as far as playing on the field in the regular season.<\/p>\n<p>Overshown started in 12 of the 13 games he played in during 2024. He had 90 tackles and five sacks.<\/p>\n<p>His highlight of the season came on Thanksgiving Day, just one week before the season-ending injury, when he had a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQB7TvuaNzsbizwn_Ngl2fBR_GGprUAlCTIGw&amp;s\" alt=\"Can the Cowboys' linebackers hold the fort until Agent 0 returns?\" \/><\/p>\n<p>He was having a solid showing against the Bengals with six tackles before his season came to a heart-breaking end.<\/p>\n<p>If Overshown does return from this injury as well as he did from his first, and if he can do so sooner rather than later, it will be a huge boost to the defense.<\/p>\n<p>With Agent 0 back in action, the Cowboys could have one of the more dominant front sevens in the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>If they intend to make the playoffs, and make a deeper run than they have in 29 seasons, they\u2019ll need a strong and healthy Agent 0 on the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest injury update on Cowboys\u2019 linebacker DeMarvion Overshown has Agent 0 on pace for a mid-season return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dallas-cowboys"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can the Cowboys&#039; linebackers hold the fort until Agent 0 returns? 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