Cowboys Injuries: DeMarvion Overshown, Malik Hooker Hurt In Loss To Giants

The Cowboys' 2026 opener against the Giants was already going sideways on the scoreboard, and then it got worse on the injury front. Dallas fell 28-20, but the bigger story by the final whistle was how many defensive starters were watching from the sideline instead of the field.

Malik Hooker was the first to go down, forced out late in the third quarter. Beat writers on the scene flagged it immediately.

Clarence Hill Jr

@clarencehilljr

Malik Hooker is hurt

Calvin Watkins added detail moments later, describing Hooker walking off pointing to his chest before eventually being ruled out.

Calvin Watkins

@calvinwatkins

Malik Hooker walks off the field pointing to his chest after being down for a few moments.

Then it was DeMarvion Overshown's turn. He tried to run off whatever was bothering him, jogged it out, and it clearly wasn't nothing — he ended up in the medical tent.

Clarence Hill Jr

@clarencehilljr

Overshown in the blue tent

That one stings extra given Overshown's history. He tore his ACL, MCL and PCL against the Bengals in December 2024, missed the bulk of last season, and didn't get back on an NFL field until November 2025 — a grueling, emotional return for a guy who'd become a defensive leader in Dallas. Watching him grab at his hamstring and limp toward the tent in Week 1 of a new season is the kind of moment that makes a fanbase hold its breath.

Calvin Watkins

@calvinwatkins

DeMarvion Overshown has a hamstring injury and his return is questionable.

Schottenheimer confirmed both injuries after the game, and the forearm word is the scarier one. Hooker's injury reportedly came on a play away from the ball, not a violent hit, which makes the fracture possibility even more of a fluke. Overshown's is being called soft-tissue for now, hamstring specifically, with the coach admitting he isn't sure of the severity yet.

Calvin Watkins

@calvinwatkins

Brian Schottenheimer said Malik Hooker May have had a fractured forearm. “More testing tomorrow,” he said. DeMarvion Overshown has a hamstring injury and he wasn’t “sure the severity.”

Schottenheimer also mentioned a third body: running back Malik Davis went down with what the team is calling a non-contact hip injury. It's a smaller name in a lesser role, but a non-contact injury on the same night as two other significant ones is not the vibe you want in Week 1.

Calvin Watkins

@calvinwatkins

Brian Schottenheimer said Malik Davis suffered a non-contact hip injury.

More testing was scheduled for Monday to nail down Hooker's forearm, and Overshown's hamstring will presumably get the standard wait-and-see. Dallas opens 0-1, and now the injury report reads worse than the score. For a defense that already needed Overshown healthy and productive after everything he went through to get back on the field, this is the last way anyone wanted Week 1 to end.