OXNARD, Calif. — The NFL has requested the practice film from Tuesday’s joint practice between the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday he has heard nothing from the league about discipline for any player involved.
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys found matchups they liked when they went back through the tape of the session.
“I have not,” Schottenheimer said when asked whether the league had been in touch about possible discipline. “I know they’ve requested the film, but I’ll leave it at that.”
Under the NFL’s rules for joint practices, players who behave inappropriately are subject to fines. Coaches are held to the same standard.
Four Skirmishes And An Ejection
The Dallas Morning News reported the details of what happened at the River Ridge Playing Fields on Aug. 18.
Saints wide receiver Brock Rechsteiner suplexed Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson. Cornerback Caelen Carson and edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku were both thrown out of practice for throwing punches. Sam Williams was involved in a separate skirmish in which it appeared a punch was thrown, and DeMarvion Overshown was photographed pulling Williams off Saints tight end Moliki Matavao. A Saints player head-butted Cowboys tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford after a play. Another grabbed a Cowboys player’s helmet and threw it in the air during a scrum.
Schottenheimer said the practice came close to being called off because of the number of incidents, per the News. He has spoken with Ezeiruaku about his conduct and declined to go into specifics.
Ezeiruaku had already been removed from a Cowboys practice earlier in camp, also reported by the News.
Who The Players Are
Rechsteiner signed with New Orleans as an undrafted free agent out of Jacksonville State on May 12. He is the son of Scott Steiner, the WWE Hall of Fame wrestler whose given name is Scott Rechsteiner. The NFL suspended Rechsteiner for the first six games of the regular season for violating the performance-enhancing substances policy.
Thompson signed a three-year, $33 million contract with Dallas in free agency this offseason and is expected to start at safety. Ezeiruaku, a second-round pick in 2025, finished his rookie season as part of the Cowboys’ edge rotation and moved to No. 6 for 2026. Carson is a 2024 fifth-round pick out of Wake Forest.
Matavao was a seventh-round pick of the Saints in 2025, 248th overall out of UCLA, and caught 2 passes for 10 yards as a rookie.
What Brian Schottenheimer Took From The Tape
Schottenheimer was asked separately Thursday whether anything positive came out of the practice.
“Yeah, absolutely. There always is,” Schottenheimer explained. “There’s certainly things that you learn about certain players. There was some matchups that we felt really good about that we liked, and you always find the positives. But there’s always going to be things to correct as well.”
It was the second joint practice of camp for Dallas. The Cowboys traveled to Woodland Hills, California, on Aug. 11 to work against the Los Angeles Rams.
New Orleans arrived in Oxnard off a 24-20 preseason loss to Jacksonville. Dallas had beaten Seattle in its preseason opener three days earlier.
The Same Two Teams Meet Again Aug. 28
Dallas and New Orleans play at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Aug. 28, in the Cowboys’ preseason finale. Kickoff is 7 p.m. CT, and it is the only preseason game Dallas will play at home this year.
Kellen Moore coaches the Saints. He spent four seasons as a Cowboys quarterback and four more on the Dallas coaching staff, the last three as offensive coordinator.
Thursday was the Cowboys’ last practice in Oxnard. Dallas plays at the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday and holds open practices at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26.
