Edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku faces a lengthy recovery from hip surgery, potentially sidelining him until training camp, impacting the Cowboys' thin defensive line.
FRISCO - Immediately after the 2025 season ended, the Dallas Cowboys coaches conducted their season-ending "exit interviews'' with players. And a common theme came up among the defensive guys.
Veteran after veteran, sources told us, offered praise for rookie defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku, who was mentioned by an assortment of his teammates as a prospect on the verge of accomplishing big things.
That's going to have to now be on hold for a bit.
Writes Jon Machota in The Athletic:
"The Cowboys will likely be without edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku until training camp. Last year’s second-round pick needed surgery to repair a hip labrum injury he played through at the end of his rookie year.
"The 44th pick in 2025 played in all 17 games, finishing with 40 tackles, two sacks, nine tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits and a forced fumble.''
Machota also notes accurately that "Dallas is extremely thin at edge rusher with several additions expected in free agency and the draft.''
The expectation for Ezeiruaku? He will be fine sometime in late summer and will emerge as a full-time starter in new defensive coordinator Christian Parker's "3-4 Hybrid'' scheme.
Ezeiruaku was selected with the 44th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Cowboys after a standout career at Boston College, where he was among the NCAA leaders in sacks in 2024.
Ezeiruaku was in his final college season the winner of the Ted Hendricks Award, was ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and was First Team All-ACC along with being a consensus All-American.
In his rookie NFL season, he earned two sacks while starting 10 of the team's 14 games.