When things first began to click for Donovan Ezeiruaku in training camp, the Dallas Cowboys rookie sparked a competition of sorts with his fellow pass rushers.
"We just had a two-minute period, and the first thing Dante (Fowler Jr.) said to me was, 'I'll meet you back there (in the backfield),'" Ezeiruaku said in late July. "I said, 'No, I'm going to get there first.' And then the first play, I got back there so I asked, 'Where you at?'"
One month later, the Cowboys now are counting on Ezeiruaku, Fowler and a host of other faces to be the ones to hold court in opponents' backfields.
On Thursday, Dallas agreed to trade two-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for two first-round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The move served as a stunning resolution to the escalating friction between one of the league's most accomplished young defensive stars and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, with the two having clashed over negotiations for a contract extension.
But regardless of what led to the split – Jones insisted it was driven by a belief that his team could be better both right away and well into the future – Dallas now must recalibrate a pass rush no longer ignited by Parsons, who not only offered prolific production but a gravitational pull for the rest of the defense. And with the season-opener against the defending-champion Philadelphia Eagles less than a week away, the unit has little time to sort things out.
