It's been quite the up-and-down ride for linebacker Damone Clark since he was taken by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. And that's putting it about as mildly as possible.
For starters, just a few months after being drafted, the LSU alum underwent spinal fusion surgery, which cost him a decent chunk of his rookie campaign. To his credit, though, he played about as well as could be expected upon his return, recording 47 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles in 10 games, five of which he started.
With the Cowboys being a bit thin at the position in 2023, Clark started all 17 games in his second season, leading the team in tackles with 109. But that was as good as things got.
With Mike Zimmer replacing Dan Quinn at defensive coordinator and Dallas loading up on linebackers, a couple of whom emerged as potential stars, specifically DeMarvion Overshown and Marist Liufau, Clark simply looked like the odd man out at times in 2024.
And things aren't looking much better in 2025, as the three-year veteran has a few more new faces with whom to compete for snaps as training camp gets underway.
Damone Clark has loads of competition in the Cowboys' linebacker room
The good news for Clark is that Zimmer is gone, replaced by former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, who we'll circle back to in just a moment.
Also, at least for now, he won't have to compete with Overshown, who will miss a large portion of the upcoming season (maybe all of it) as he continues to recover from the ACL, PCL, and MCL tears in his right knee.
The bad news, though, is that the Cowboys went out and added several linebackers to the roster, which couldn't have given him a good feeling.
Most notably, Dallas engaged in a trade with the Tennessee Titans to acquire 2020 first-round pick Kenneth Murray Jr., who undoubtedly has something to prove.
They also went out and added Jack Sanborn, who spent the first three years of his professional career with none other than the Bears. So, Eberflus obviously knows exactly what he's got there, which may not bode well for Clark.
Then, of course, we're back to Marist Liufau, whom Dallas drafted in the third round in 2024 and showed tremendous potential as a rookie, starting nine games and stealing all sorts of snaps from Clark as the season progressed.
And in this year's draft, the Cowboys selected Florida's Shemar James. They then went out and signed Syracuse's Justin Barron as an undrafted free agent, and he's been turning heads left and right with some impressive workouts.
Now, to his credit, Clark has clearly put in work during the offseason, as he looked impressive in his own right during OTAs and mandatory minicamp. And it undoubtedly has to be on his mind constantly that he's in the final year of his contract, so that'll add some extra motivation.
So, if you're looking for a fun battle to watch during camp, look no further than the fight at linebacker.