The Dallas Cowboys chartered plane departed from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Thursday night around 8:30 p.m. local time for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as they begin their trek to South America for the franchise’s second-ever international regular season game on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. They did so without four players on the plane.
Safeties Malik Hooker (forearm fracture) and P.J. Locke (plantar fasciitis), linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring strain) and cornerback Cobie Durant (hamstring strain) remained back in Frisco to rehab injuries from the first two games of the season.
In their place, Markquese Bell and Shavon Revel Jr. are expected to earn their first starts of the season on Sunday in Brazil at safety and cornerback, respectively.
“They’re both pros,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said about the duo on Thursday morning. “Markquese has been around a long time. He’s attacking this the exact right way that you would expect. It’s good because the plan for us is easier because we can put those guys in spots. We’re featuring what they do really, really well.”
Both Bell and Revel played a significant amount of snaps in the Week 2 win over the Washington Commanders after mid-game injuries to Locke and Durant.
“I thought both guys having played and getting that experience last week was good,” Schottenheimer said. “But it’ll definitely be different, and we’re not going to play perfect. We’re not going to coach perfect, but at the end of the day, we feel really good about the plan and both of those guys’ preparation.”
At linebacker, rookie Jaishawn Barham will draw his second consecutive start after Overshown was injured in the Week 1 loss to the New York Giants.
“You see a guy that understands schemes and concepts,” Schottenheimer said about Barham. “I don’t know how many rookie linebackers in their second game are wearing the green dot. So, that tells you a lot about him in terms of his understanding of the scheme and what we’re doing.”
While all four players that were left back are expected to miss multiple games, none of them have been placed on injured reserve. The team will have until Saturday to make that transaction to have Sunday’s game in Brazil count as one of the four required games missed as a result of being on IR. Overshown and Hooker will not revert to IR, as both are expected to return a four-week window since their Week 1 injuries. Overshown is further along in his rehab and could return as soon as the team’s Week 4 game in Houston.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Cowboys when they return from South America, as they will land early Monday and take off through Tuesday before a quick practice week in Frisco ahead of its trip to Houston. Then, the team will quickly turn around once again for a Thursday night clash with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
“I’d be a hypocrite if I said I think it’s a tough task,” Schottenheimer said about the tough upcoming schedule. “But we’re up to it. We’re mentally tough. We need to be. This is a long season, and I can’t be a ‘win the day’ type guy and be angry about it. But in reality, it’s a long trip, come home, Houston, short week.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.