DeMarvion Overshown is Texas through-and-through.
He's a kid from Tyler and an Arp High School graduate who went to the University of Texas and lived every Lone Star State kid's dream when he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the NFL Draft. And he's shown tremendous promise playing for America's Team.
But in the NFL, it is said that your best ability is availability.
So, for as good as Overshown has been during his four-year stint with the team, and for how badly both sides want this to work out, he simply has not been available enough for the front office to feel good about extending him on any kind of lucrative long-term deal.
Overshown may have to finally go outside the borders of the republic to play football next fall if he won't take a cheap deal to stay in Dallas.
Cowboys can't keep waiting for DeMarvion Overshown to stay healthy
The Cowboys have played 60 games since Overshown was selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. The young linebacker has played in just 22 of them, which is a shockingly low number. That's roughly one in every three games that Overshown has suited up for.
As Calvin Watkins of Dallas News pointed out, even Sean Lee played in 46 of a possible 64 games in his first four seasons. If Overshown plays every game from here on out in 2026, he'll have notched just 30 appearances out of a possible 68, which is still well below half.
After getting hurt in Week 1, Overshown returned for Weeks 7 and 8, and he made quite the impact. He logged an interception and a forced fumble in consecutive games, and it was no coincidence that the entire defense looked better with him out there. In some ways, Dallas needs Overshown.
Unfortunately, though, they just can't rely on him or invest much into him if he's going to be watching the games like you and I.
It feels harsh, in some ways, to punish a player, or at least not reward them, for a string of bad injury luck. But at a certain point, the Cowboys have to do what is best for them. On a rookie deal, it has been fine to be patient with Overshown and to try to build the linebacker room around him.
Overshown hasn't done enough to earn a second contract in Dallas
He'll be a free agent next spring, though, and a player of his talent level could garner a nice deal, albeit with low guarantees because of his injury history. But Dallas has no business being the team to give him that contract because he hasn't proven that he can make it worth their money.
Overshown missed games almost every year at Texas. He missed his entire rookie season. He missed four games as a sophomore and then 11 in his third year. So far in 2026, he's played in just two and a half of a possible nine games. This is an unfortunate Pattern the Cowboys can't reward.
At his best, Overshown is an above-average linebacker who helps Dallas win games. And It is so hard to separate his potential and what he's shown from the brutal reality that 22 games is such a small sample size anyway. We're talking about less than a season and a half of play.
Plus, the Cowboys are in a bit of salary cap trouble next year.
With only $768,000 to spend, it will take some serious gymnastics just to get everyone under the salary cap, let alone worry about extending players or making big promises. And in the pecking order, George Pickens and Joey Porter Jr. are surely ahead of Overshown.
Perhaps the Cowboys move some money around and have the ability to sign or extend a few in-house players, but unless Overshown is willing to take a small deal or a prove-it contract, Dallas may be better off letting him walk and letting another team spend the money.
For cheap, Overshown would be great, and patience could be had. It's easier to stomach a $4 million in one season, as opposed to something in the ball park of $30 million over three years, which is the range that linebackers of his talent are signing for on the open market.
Sign Overshown back for cheap or painfully let him walk. But inking him to an extension or any kind of contract that isn't low on guarantees and high on incentives would be a bad move.
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