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AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 2h ago
Cowboys Camp Injury Update: Newly-Signed DB Hurt, 2 Starters Practice
OXNARD, Calif. - The Dallas Cowboys entered Wednesday's first practice of training camp without a player on any form of an injury list, making for a happy second-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
But, the coach said, physicality will be ramped up this year here in Oxnard.
Schottenheimer talked to the media during his first solo press conference of the new season about how he'd implement a few more padded practices and less 7-on-7 work, to which he's "not a big fan".
And possibly as a result, Cowboys Nation got its first injury "scare" as newcomer defensive back P.J. Locke was briefly checked out in the injury tent.
In the end, a source here in Oxnard that there isn't any concern, as Locke simply banged his knee awkwardly. ... and that he should be fine.
Locke did, however, sit out the remainder of practice after being evaluated.
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Earlier in the week, Schottenheimer noted two players that "would be monitored" as camp begins: cornerback DaRon Bland and outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku .
Bland missed three weeks at the end of the 2025 season, his first of a new four-year contract, due to a foot injury. The former All-Pro cover man underwent surgery in January, which marked his second procedure on his left foot in as many years.
"I'm not a doctor... but I don't like that at all," owner Jerry Jones said in January after Bland's procedure. "I don't like the sound of that. You have to watch feet, relative to the future."
Though Bland's production has been limited in the two years following his record-setting five pick-sixes in 2023, Jones remains optimistic.
"He has been everything you could ask for relative to his rehab, relative to his competes," Jones said in December of last season. "He's done the best that he's had to work with as it turns out with his injury. He's thumb's up."
That thumb is raised higher the longer Bland stays off the injury report.
Ezeiruaku also underwent surgery near the beginning of the calendar year. The rookie pass rusher, picked in the second round after slipping further than expected in the draft, repaired a torn labrum in his hip.
The Boston College product led college football in sacks with 17.5 in 2024, but only registered two for the Cowboys last season. Still, Schottenheimer believes "EZ" can be a star, even as new defensive coordinator Christian Parker establishes a "hybrid 3-4" scheme.
Bland and Ezeiruaku were each part of the Cowboys' 11-man defense to open team drills.
The same goes for his cornerback counterpart, Shavon Revel Jr., whom Dallas drafted in the third round in 2025. Revel, though, played in just seven games (five starts) in his rookie season as he dealt with recovery related to a torn ACL suffered prior to his final season at East Carolina.
This summer, it's good news for "The Condor."
Revel told the team website at camp that he is "perfectly fine" and "ready to go" as practices get underway.
The Cowboys are hopeful for a breakout season for Revel, who now learns under the secondary savant Parker. Currently, he sits behind free-agent signee Cobie Durant, who started at cornerback opposite Bland in the team portion.
"It gives you a chance to create some real position battles because you're not limiting guys," Schottenheimer said about the advent of having full availability at practice.
"I think you're gonna see the purity of our roster, where we stand. I think we're a really talented roster; there are some great position battles that we're excited to see. We know that when we go through these days there will be some guys who get dinged up a little bit, and gives other guys a chance to step up."
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