Malik Hooker Out vs Commanders Week 2

Dallas Cowboys safety Malik Hooker is out for Sunday's home opener against the Washington Commanders after a fractured forearm that needed Tuesday surgery, and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is out with a hamstring strain that also kept him off the practice field all week. The final injury report stamped both as outs after neither practiced Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Brian Schottenheimer said rookie Jaishawn Barham will wear the green dot, and P.J. Locke is the plan at safety while Hooker recovers.

Hooker left the Week 1 loss to the New York Giants in the final minute of the third quarter after a 2-yard scramble, with only 12 defensive snaps and 1 tackle on the board. X-rays at MetLife pointed to a fracture. Monday confirmed it, Tuesday brought surgery, and Schottenheimer said before Wednesday that the procedure went well. Dallas is hoping for roughly a two-week window and does not expect to need injured reserve.

Overshown out, Barham on the dot

Overshown strained his hamstring with 12:04 left in the fourth against New York and finished with 7 tackles. Schottenheimer put a one-to-two-week label on it Monday and called it nothing long-term. Overshown wore the green dot in the opener (51 snaps). Barham, a third-round pick, played 34, and Dee Winters played 40. Schottenheimer said Friday that Barham has command of the call sheet even with AT&T Stadium noise forcing more nonverbal communication.

Outside linebacker James Houston (shoulder) and tackle Ajani Cornelius (knee) finished the week as full participants with no game designation. Guard Tyler Smith remains on IR after thumb surgery. That is the rest of Dallas's board. The headline for Sunday is still Hooker and Overshown.

Washington is also missing pieces. Frankie Luvu (groin) and Chig Okonkwo (hamstring) are out on the Commanders' final report, with Javon Kinlaw questionable (back). Both clubs are 0-1. Dallas fell 28-20 at the Giants. Washington lost 24-22 at Philadelphia.

Fantasy and DFS boards already had Dallas as a home favorite to avoid 0-2. Losing Hooker and Overshown at the same time is the real tax on that lean. Barham and Locke are the next names on the depth chart, not invented upgrades. Treat the defensive snaps as a Week 2 adjustment, not a season-long rewrite.

AT&T on Sunday

Kickoff is 4:25 p.m. ET (3:25 p.m. CT) Sunday at AT&T Stadium on FOX. Hooker's forearm surgery and Overshown's hamstring already locked the defensive call sheet. Until both clear, Barham and Locke carry the Week 2 defensive plan.

Forearm surgery. Hamstring strain. Home opener waiting. That is the Cowboys defensive board into Sunday.