FRISCO, Texas — OTAs are officially off and running for the Dallas Cowboys this week, as the team began their first of six scheduled practices on Tuesday ahead of mini-camp in early June when the entire team will be present.
Offseason injury recoveries have taken some storylines on both sides of the ball, as multiple injured stars from the 2023 season will be off to the side working in a rehab group during the OTA period.
That group will include cornerback Trevon Diggs, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and tight end John Stephens Jr., who are each recovering from torn ACLs suffered early last season.
"They look great," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "It's really staying on time with the process. Trevon, he's out there, he's hitting [rehab] four days a week…I know Al [Harris] is spending time with him when he's here. [Overshown] actually looks really good. It's respecting the timeline. If I was a doctor, which I'm not, I would say he's a little ahead of schedule."
Overshown isn't the only member of the 2023 draft class recovering from surgery as defensive tackle Mazi Smith is still working back from a shoulder problem that bothered him during his rookie season which forced him to have surgery at the beginning of the offseason.
"He's still in the rehab group," McCarthy said. "Working primarily with our rehab guys. He's still in our meetings and everything else."
McCarthy also shared that 2023 second-round pick tight end Luke Schoonmaker is nursing a hamstring injury and will not participate in OTAs with the team and will instead be off to the side with the rehab group. He is also coming off offseason shoulder surgery. In Schoonmaker's second offseason, he will now miss his second OTA period after arriving in Dallas with a plantar fascia injury that he suffered in college.
