Stealth Surgery: Cowboys young pass rusher possibly on shelf 'til camp
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 Dallas Cowboys took a bit of a blow this past weekend. While everyone was watching the scouting combine and paying attention to the salary cap for next week's free-agency frenzy, both items may have been impacted in a hospital far, far away.
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That's because Donovan Ezeiruaku, the Cowboys' second-round pick in last April's draft and their hopeful star edge rusher in Christian Parker's new 3-4 defense, had surgery according to Clarence Hill Jr of DLLS. The hip operation may leave him on the shelf until into training camp, meaning he's going to miss all of the on-field install work that is crucial to learning a new system.
Per sources, Cowboys LB Donovan Ezeiruaku possibly out to training camp following hip surgery. Does this increase Dallas Cowboys need for edge rusher in camp and free agent
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) March 2, 2026
Ezeiruaku had 2.5 sacks last year on 36 pressures, the latter was the fourth-most among rookies in the NFL.
The question is now whether or not the Cowboys have to worry about his recovery timeline, ability to adapt to his new role as an off-ball linebacker or just go about whatever plans they already were making at the position.
Dallas has James Houston, who was second on the team in sacks last season with 5.5 as the only other experienced, currently rostered player who can line up as an outside linebacker. The team has both Jadeveon Clowney (who led the team with 8.5 sacks) and Sam Williams as pending free agents.
Dallas has the No. 12 and No. 20 picks in next month's draft, and there are a considerable number of free agents at the position who could be of interest to them.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys edge Donovan Ezeiruaku's surgery threatens offseason