The road back for Overshown included getting engaged and the birth of his youngest son, two things that, along with his faith, helped keep him above the dark space that usually engulfs the mind and spirit of players after a devastating injury, let alone two in as many years.
With his return to practice, the 21-day clock begins for the Cowboys, and a decision must be made to activate him to the 53-man roster before Nov. 5, otherwise he will revert to season-ending injured reserve, but there is no plan for the latter to occur.
Instead, Overshown has already circled his anticipated date of return to play: the Nov. 17 matchup in Sin City against the Las Vegas Raiders, in primetime, and with all the world watching.
“That’s what we’re looking like — Monday night prime time,” he said, flashing his trademark ear-to-ear smile. “[Agent] 0 will be making his debut and I’m excited for it. It’s not going to be anything short of extraordinary. I’m ready to show, truly, how blessed I am.
“A lot of people claim that this knee injury is one of the worst or the worst, and not too many people come back the same afterwards. I’m ready to put that to the test. … the sky’s the limit for me. And I’m not saying that to be cocky or anything, but I know what I bring to the field. … I know what y’all saw last year and you’re gonna get more of that.
“I know what I’m capable of and last year was still me just getting my feet wet, so we really haven’t seen yet what all I can do.”
That isn’t to say Overshown is looking to override the team’s plan to ramp him up, knowing full well he’ll need to get his conditioning back to the high level required to dominate at the NFL level — his knee having felt good for roughly four months now, getting back into football shape having been the focus since just before training camp.
He explained he’s ready to be the bullpen arm or the “closer” for Matt Eberflus when the time comes, Overshown’s point being when he is on the field, for however long that might be at the outset, he plans to put on a show similar or greater than the highlights he generated in 2024.
And he’s heard the very loud whispers from doubters as well, offering up insight on his current build and how it’s actually more of everything that made the East Texas kid special in the first place en route to becoming a superstar at Texas and an eventual Day 2 draft pick for the Cowboys.
“I’m stronger, and we got the numbers to prove it — stronger, faster. I jump higher. I’m more explosive. I mean, you name it. I’m all of it,” he said. “So, my game, it’s not going to slow down. I think one of the worst things I heard over my rehab time was, ‘Man, you gotta slow down. We need you to play a full season. You gotta slow down.’
“That ain’t how I play. I know how to play one way, and that’s 100, full speed, and that’s all you’re gonna see.”
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