Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku got the early shower Tuesday after a brief tussle with right tackle Terence Steele during padded practice in Oxnard. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer enforced his zero-tolerance rule on punches and had the second-year defender removed from the field.

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It happened on Day 5 of training camp. Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill Jr. wrote, “Tyler Guyton missed some reps with the first team due to sore elbow DeMarvion Overshown was held out of team reps because of sore legs. Donovan  Ezeiruaku was kicked out because he threw a punch at Terence Steele Elijah Clark has an ankle injury, not believed to be serious.”

Bobby Belt from 105.3 The Fan reported that team execs Will McClay and Todd Williams had to walk him straight off the field. However, this is already his third fight of camp, having previously gone at it with Tyler Guyton and Brevyn Spann-Ford. 

The strict zero-tolerance rule has been on the books since Schottenheimer’s first camp. If a player throws a punch in a game, he gets tossed and fined $45,000. Now, they are holding the guys to that exact same standard in practice. 

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It puts fresh pressure on the 22-year-old. Dallas took him 44th overall out of Boston College in 2025, and he is entering a big second year. He put up decent numbers last season: 40 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble over 17 games. 

But he never had a true breakout, multi-sack game. Schottenheimer has already shown he will not bend for talent, famously telling Ezeiruaku to «show up and work or we’ll move on» during contract talks last year. With heavy internal competition at edge, Ezeiruaku needs to keep his cool and stay on the field.

Ezeiruaku eventually signed a four-year, $10.1 million rookie deal with about 80% of it guaranteed. But after getting kicked out of practice, the heat is definitely on. He has to prove he can play with that competitive fire without crossing the line Coach Schottenheimer has set for this team.

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