After a rookie year in which he did not quite perform up to the standards he thought he’d hit, Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku has been determined this summer to show that he’s raring to go in 2026. Except that on Tuesday, he probably took it all a little too far.
That’s because, during a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints in Oxnard, mayhem broke out, and Ezeiruaku was in the middle of it. As an extended play between the Saints offense and the Cowboys defense was drawn out over the whistles of the referees monitoring the practice, bodies and helmets began flying, and a helmetless Ezeiruaku could be seen throwing punches at a Saints player.
Ezeiruaku was ejected from practice.
As Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote on Twitter/X, “Just before this video began, Donovan Ezeiruaku tried to take on the whole Saints roster.” (Click to check out his video.)
Cowboys-Saints Gets Ugly
According to multiple reports, the Cowboys-Saints meeting gave rise to a tense and chippy practice. There was also video of cornerback Caelen Carson fighting with a Saints tight end Brock Reichsteiner, who gave one of the Cowboys defenders something of a pile driver.
Harris had earlier noted on Twitter/X, “Things are getting way out of hand at Cowboys–Saints.”
Zach Wolchuk of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas wrote, “Cowboys have a joint practice vs the Rams with no fights. Today they have had at least six reported fights vs the Saints. I lean the Saints are a dirty team lol.”
And Jon Machota of The Athletic got a view from a veteran, “Did the Cowboys win the fights vs. the Saints? Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson: ‘Of course we did. Come on now.’”
Donovan Ezeiruaku Threw a Punch
Suffice it to say that the ugly slate between the Cowboys and Saints was not quite what coach Brian Schottenheimer was looking for, especially when it comes to how Ezeiruaku handled the conflict.
“That’s not the way we like to do business, we have got to be better. But I have to look at the film,: Schottenheimer said. “We’re certainly not going to take (expletive) from anybody, but, again, it was chippy on both sides. Like I said, I want our guys to play on the edge without going over the edge, and one guy seems like, sounds like he might have thrown a punch and that’s why he left practice.”
Cowboys Coach Will Give Donovan Ezeiruaku a ‘Long Conversation’
And yes, the Cowboys player in question who threw the punch was Donovan Ezeiruaku, as Schottenheimer acknowledged. He added that Ezeiruaku, who has had discipline concerns raised on him before, is in for a talking-to.
“Yeah, we’ll have a long conversation,” Schottenheimer said. “Donovan‘s a very bright young man. Again, he understands that he can’t hurt the football team. And unfortunately for him, there’s two officiating crews that know that he lost his composure.”
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