In a perfect world, all Dallas Cowboys inside linebacker DeMarvion Overshown would be talking about before his long awaited return would be how he’s come back from a second catastrophic knee injury in 3 years.
It’s not a perfect world, however, and Overshown didn’t mince words talking to the media on Friday, November 14, as he addressed what was top of mind and weighing on his heart — last week’s tragic suicide of 24-year-old Cowboys edge rusher Marshawn Kneeland.
The Cowboys play for the first time since Kneeland’s death on November 6 when they travel to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football in Week 11.
It will be Overshown’s first game back since tearing his ACL, PCL and MCL in Week 14 of the 2024 regular season.
“A brother, a teammate, and a great human, man … This is something that we we will never move on from,” Overshown told The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “This is something that we won’t just wake up tomorrow, and then everything is gonna be OK. … But it is one of those things where we got to pick it up and we got to move forward, and we got to keep Marshawn’s legacy alive. And that was smiling every day, enjoying the grit and the hard work that comes with this. That’s playing with the passion when we get out there with our brothers. And most importantly, that’s doing it the Marshawn Kneeland way, and that’s having fun while doing it. … We will keep his legacy alive, that’s for sure.”
Texas authorities said that after a brief car pursuit on Wednesday, November 5, ended at the Cowboys’ practice facility around 10:30 p.m., Kneeland exited his vehicle and fled on foot.
Three hours later, the police used drones to be able to identify Kneeland’s body in a portable restroom after he’d died of what was later determined to be a self inflicted gunshot wound.
Overshown was at the end of of a breakout season in 2024 when he was hurt, with 90 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 8 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 4 pass deflections and one interception returned for a touchdown through 13 games.
It was his second consecutive season with a season-ending knee injury after tearing his ACL in the 2023 preseason, and while he will play Monday he will be on something of a “pitch count” according to Machota.
He’s actually ahead of schedule in his return, with the Thanksgiving Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs his initial targeted return.
“We talked about it, and that’s what you want to do coming off of any injury, especially for a guy that hasn’t played in 300 some days, just ramping them up and getting to it, Overshown said. “But we already know, man, it’s winning football time. So when the time comes, when the situation comes, if I’m at that play count or that limit, we already have made the conversation where, look, it’s a play that needs to be made, I got to be on the field.”
With the Cowboys on a bye in Week 10, NFL teams honored Kneeland with a moment of silence before their games. The Cowboys will wear a special helmet decal the rest of the season to honor Kneeland, as well as specially made warm up shirts before each of their next 2 games.
Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been quite expressive during games when things don’t go well for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. When he’s not visibly yelling, he often displays a face that makes it easy to read what he’s likely thinking.
NFL insider Mike Florio argued Friday that Rodgers’s facial expressions hit a low point during the Week 10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“The Bengals game, he looked irritated the whole time. On Sunday against the Chargers, he had more of an overall attitude of resignation,” Florio said of Rodgers on 93.7 The Fan this week, via Steelers Depot’s Matthew Marci. “And was it, ‘It’s not our night,’ or is it ‘It’s not our year,’ or is it, ‘I’m just done, and I’m not gonna get what I thought I was gonna get here in Pittsburgh?’”
Florio continued to read between the lines and assess Rodgers’s mindset based on his Week 10 facial expressions.
“I just feel like he’s accepting something,” Florio also said of Rodgers. “Whether it was just that night or the rest of the season, and ‘This is how my career’s gonna end,’ I don’t know.
“But he definitely had just kind of an acceptance that seemed like he was recognizing. ‘That’s all, folks.’”
It’s Florio’s job to read between the lines and draw dramatic conclusions to stir discussion in the media. But his conclusion that Rodgers has accepted his fate in Pittsburgh because of a bad few weeks is going to be a bridge too far for a lot of fans.
Florio’s take on Rodgers didn’t come from sources or insider knowledge — it’s a feeling he has. His “feelings” or “guesses around the quarterback have been way off in the past.
Florio made an “educated guess” in March that it was going to cost $90 million on a two-year contract for the Steelers to sign the veteran quarterback. Rodgers’s deal with Pittsburgh was a one-year, $13.65 million contract.
Florio is right about one thing — it’s rather easy to decipher when Rodgers is displeased about something along the sidelines. Sunday night against the Chargers, there was plenty to be upset about with the Steelers.
Pittsburgh had only 221 yards and finished 2-for-11 on third down in Week 10. The offense didn’t reach the end zone until there was fewer than three minutes remaining in regulation.
Speaking of unhappy facial expressions, Mike Tomlin appeared rather disgusted based on his face during the third quarter. Again, that’s understandable based on how the team’s played on offense.
But talking about Tomlin’s expressions doesn’t make headlines. So, the coach’s face went largely unnoticed.
Sideline behavior can be a clear indication into a player’s mindset. But a postgame press conference can reveal that as well.
In his Week 10 postgame presser, Rodgers stated that the offense lacked energy.
“I feel like we were just kind of struggling a little bit, couldn’t get a play to get going,” Rodgers said. “We always say, ‘we just get a first down, we score on that drive.’ We had so many three and outs and we hurt ourselves with a couple penalties.
To a follow-up question, though, the quarterback clarified the low energy isn’t something happening a lot with the offense or team.
“It’s just sometimes in the game, when it’s just not going, it’s just one of those days where we just couldn’t quite get over the hump and get some first downs,” said Rodgers.
Based on those responses, Rodgers’s facial expressions were probably closer to “this isn’t our night” than “this isn’t our year.”