FRISCO, Texas — Second-year cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. is ready for a larger role with Cobie Durant out, Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday at The Star. Durant has a strained hamstring and could miss a few weeks.
Revel took over when Durant was hurt late in the first half of Sunday’s 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders. The Commanders went at him right away.
Washington threw at Revel on Dyami Brown down the Dallas sideline, Schottenheimer said, and then tried the same thing with Terry McLaurin. That is part of the deal for a young cornerback, Schottenheimer said.
“He’s definitely ready, working really, really hard. I do think he played well in the game. They tried him immediately, which that’s part of the deal of being a young corner. They went right after him,” Schottenheimer said. “I think it was Dyami Brown right down our sideline. And the next time they came back and they were going to try the same thing, and it was him on McLaurin. And his technique was excellent, outstanding, just the way we teach it. And so every rep he plays, he gets better and better and better. And it’s good for his confidence.”
Dallas drafted Revel in the third round, 76th overall, out of East Carolina in 2025. He tore his ACL in September 2024, during his final college season, and missed the first nine games of his rookie year. Revel played in 7 games in 2025 and made 35 tackles. Durant signed with Dallas this offseason after four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.
Markquese Bell Steps In For P.J. Locke At Safety
Safety P.J. Locke tore the plantar fascia in his foot on Washington’s first drive, and Markquese Bell took his snaps. Bell does not usually get many reps in the defense, Schottenheimer said, but he has been getting more of them in walkthroughs.
“Yeah, same thing. I mean, here’s a guy that wasn’t planning on playing a whole lot and went in there and got forced into duty when P.J. went down and was mentally ready and did a good job in communication,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s the benefit of having that deep safety class and a veteran like that understands the defense, even though he doesn’t usually get a ton of reps in terms of what we’re doing. He’s getting more reps in walkthroughs and things like that. But veterans generally can do that, and certainly the good ones.”
Dallas elevated linebackers Curtis Robinson and Justin Barron from the practice squad Sunday, with DeMarvion Overshown out. The Cowboys will look at some possible moves on defense, maybe in the secondary, Schottenheimer said.
“I mean, the old thing is next man up. I mean, that’s real. I thought we used the elevations well for the linebackers. I think we’ll look at some things potentially on defense, maybe in the secondary. We’ve got some guys there that we feel might step up and help us in a couple of different roles,” Schottenheimer said. “But as we get into the plan, I think it’s going to be what this league is about, is next man up. And whether you’re down four offensive linemen, like we talked a lot about last year, you’re down to two linebackers, and then you got to have some elevations.”
“That’s why the league, when they changed the rule to the practice squad being larger, I think was the right idea,” Schottenheimer continued. “They were predicting that it’s a physical, violent game, that there’s going to be injuries, and the game’s going to be better when you can have guys that actually know what you’re doing and not have to get guys off the street.”
Brian Schottenheimer Open To ‘Hard Conversation’ If A Backup Outplays An Injured Starter
Schottenheimer watched the question play out in Kansas City. His father, Marty Schottenheimer, went back to Elvis Grbac as the starting quarterback in 1997 after Rich Gannon had filled in, and Schottenheimer said Grbac was not the reason the Chiefs lost in the playoffs.
“I think each situation is different. I was around a situation where in Kansas City, Elvis Grbac was a starter. Rich Gannon was the backup. Elvis got hurt. Rich Gannon came in and played really well. I can’t remember the record. They won like seven of nine, maybe six of eight, making the numbers up,” Schottenheimer said. “But once Elvis was back, my dad put him back in, and they lost in the first round of the playoffs to Denver. Was it Elvis’ issue? No. But that was his opinion.”
“I think each situation is different. You certainly don’t want to remove a starter because he got injured, but you also could make the argument that if a starter was injured and someone else steps up and is playing at a higher level than that player, then I would certainly be willing to have the hard conversation,” Schottenheimer continued.
Grbac broke his collarbone in a November 1997 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Gannon went 5-1 as the starter. Kansas City finished 13-3 as the AFC’s top seed and lost 14-10 to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round on Jan. 4, 1998, its first playoff game after a bye. In Dallas, Dak Prescott took over for an injured Tony Romo in 2016 and kept the job. Prescott passed Romo’s franchise record with his 249th career touchdown pass Sunday.
Dallas plays the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT.
