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FRISCO, Texas — Rookie Jaishawn Barham is getting work at edge rusher for the Dallas Cowboys with first-round pick Malachi Lawrence on injured reserve, co-owner and chief operating officer Stephen Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan’s G-Bag Nation.
The Cowboys ruled out Donovan Ezeiruaku with an ankle injury Friday for Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, NBC Sports reported. Lawrence went on injured reserve Nov. 7, according to the team’s injury updates.
Donovan Ezeiruaku Ruled Out For San Francisco 49ers Game
Ezeiruaku, a 2025 second-round pick, hurt his ankle in the Nov. 8 win at Indianapolis and did not practice during the week. In his G-Bag Nation interview, Jones said Ezeiruaku would have to feel healthy enough to handle San Francisco’s left tackle.
“I think it’s going to be a long putt for Eze to be able to be 100%, and I think that’s what you got to be when you’re going against that left tackle the 49ers have,” Jones said. “He’s a man, and he’s stout. So if Eze’s gonna go, he’s got to feel really good. But we’ll know more tomorrow.”
Why Jaishawn Barham Opened At Linebacker
In April, the Cowboys drafted Barham in the third round, 92nd overall. Dallas had more depth on the edge than at linebacker when it drafted Barham, Jones said, so the team tried him inside first.
“When we drafted Barham, we felt really good that the ace in the hole was that we felt it was a no-brainer that he could be an edge player,” Jones explained. “But with us having some depth there at edge, being that we drafted Malachi, we had Rashan Gary, we had Eze, and we were a little thin inside, we obviously wanted to try him in there, see how it went, because he played there in college as well. He did some really good things for us in camp and to start the season. But we’ve gotten thin there because of Malachi and because of a question mark with Eze.”
“And he is a natural doing it,” Jones continued. “It’s an easier position to play. You got to have the skill to do it, but there’s not as many moving parts when you’re just on the edge, and you’re either going to set an edge against the run, or you’re going to get upfield and get after the passer. He’s got the length, the strength, the speed to be really good at it. He was at Michigan.”
Barham took a few snaps as an outside rusher against the Arizona Cardinals, according to a Nov. 4 DallasCowboys.com mailbag.
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