OXNARD, Calif. — Donovan Ezeiruaku has another conversation with Brian Schottenheimer coming. Ezeiruaku was thrown out of Tuesday’s joint practice against the New Orleans Saints for throwing a punch, the second time this month that a punch has cost him a practice.
The Dallas Cowboys and the Saints came close to having the session called off. Schottenheimer said more than one player threw a punch, and that Ezeiruaku’s was reported to him while he was working between both fields.
Schottenheimer spent the practice playing referee and stayed out of the scuffles himself.
“A little chippy,” Schottenheimer said. “Not the way we like to do business. Got to [be] better, but I got to look at the film. We’re certainly not going to take [it] from anybody. But it was chippy on both sides. And I want our guys to play on the edge without going over the edge.”
Donovan Ezeiruaku Has Been Thrown Out Twice In Oxnard
Dallas pulled Ezeiruaku from the Aug. 6 practice for a physical altercation. His rookie season ended the same way. In Week 18 at the New York Giants, he was ejected for pulling an offensive lineman’s helmet off during a skirmish with 9:52 left in the third quarter.
Ezeiruaku went 44th overall in the 2025 draft out of Boston College, where he won the Ted Hendricks Award and was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He moved into the starting lineup in Week 9 and finished with 40 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. He generated 36 pressures on 343 pass-rushing snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He switched from No. 41 to No. 6 for this season.
Christian Parker And Quinnen Williams In The Group Around Donovan Ezeiruaku
Two officiating crews worked Tuesday’s practice, and Schottenheimer said both of them watched Ezeiruaku lose his composure.
“We’ll have a long conversation,” Schottenheimer explained. “Donovan is a very bright young man. And 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, but it’s part of a growth mindset for him. We gotta get him better and we’ve got the right type of leaders on this football team, myself included, Christian Parker, Quinnen Williams, guys like that, that will help him do that.”
Parker replaced Matt Eberflus as defensive coordinator in January. Dallas allowed 30.1 points per game in 2025, the most in the league, and finished last in passing yards allowed per game.
Williams signed a three-year, $105.9 million extension on Aug. 11. The Cowboys acquired him from the New York Jets on Nov. 4 for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and Mazi Smith. Williams played seven games in Dallas after the trade and had 21 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and an interception. He made his fourth straight Pro Bowl.
Open practices in Oxnard closed with Tuesday’s session. The Cowboys play at the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday at 9 p.m. CT, then host the Saints in the preseason finale on Aug. 28 at AT&T Stadium.
