Cowboys' Marist Liufau: Placed on IR, designated to return
Rotowire
Liufau (forearm) was placed on injured reserve by the Cowboys on Sunday with a designation to return, Nick Eatman of the team's official website reports.
Liufau suffered a broken left forearm during the team's preseason finale against New Orleans on Friday. The linebacker will now be forced to miss at least four contests to open the regular season while on IR. Liufau is primarily a special-teams asset, so his absence won't carry a major impact on defense.
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Cowboys' Marist Liufau: Breaks forearm in preseason finale
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Liufau broke his left forearm during the Cowboys' 27-24 preseason loss to the Saints on Friday, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.
Liufau is expected to miss multiple weeks while recovering from his injury, but it's not considered a season-ending issue. He could undergo surgery as early as Monday, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the 2024 third-rounder open the regular season on injured reserve.
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Cowboys' Marist Liufau: Ruled out due to wrist injury
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Liufau (wrist) has been ruled out for the remainder of Friday night's preseason finale against the Saints, Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys' official site reports.
Liufau left during the first half with a wrist injury. The linebacker's preseason is now over. It remains to be seen if the 25-year-old will be maintained or waived during Sunday's cutdown day.
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Cowboys' Marist Liufau: Questionable with wrist issue
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Liufau (wrist) is questionable to return to Friday's preseason finale against the Saints, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Liufau sustained the injury in the first half while playing his new position as an outside linebacker. This will be the 25-year-old's first season as an edge rusher, so new issues as he adjusts to the position in a live game are not entirely surprising. If Liufau cannot return to the contest, Isaiah Land or Tyrus Wheat may see an increase in defensive snaps throughout the second half.
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Cowboys' Marist Liufau: Impressing early in camp
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Liufau is looking faster than he did as a rookie last season during the early part of training camp, Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com reports. "That was a big thing that I wanted to work on this offseason, and also my conditioning," Liufau said this week. "Knowing [new defensive coordinator Matt] Eberflus' system, we're gonna be running a lot, and it emphasizes running through the ball, and so we got to be in the best shape to be able to dominate and play the kind of defense that we want."
A third-round pick in 2024, Liufau began last season bouncing between a depth role on defense and special teams, but by the final month of the campaign the Notre Dame product was not only starting, he was wearing the green dot for coordinator Mike Zimmer. Liufau recorded 24 tackles (12 solo) with two forced fumbles and a pass defended over his final four games of 2024, but in Eberflus' linebacker-friendly scheme, his production could skyrocket, especially with DeMarvion Overshown (knee) not expected to be ready until midseason.
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Cowboys' Marist Liufau: Likely looking at increased snaps
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Liufau figures to replace DeMarvion Overshown, who is undergoing surgery to repair a knee injury he sustained Monday versus the Bengals, as a starter for the remainder of the season, Todd Archer of ESPN reports.
After Overshown was forced out of Monday's game early by the gruesome injury, Liufau filled in admirably, and he recorded the first sack as a pro in Week 14. If he sees serious competition for playing time at inside linebacker next to Eric Kendricks during the rest of this year, it will likely come from 2022 fifth-rounder Damone Clark.
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Cowboys' Marist Liufau: Solid game in relief
Rotowire
Liufau recorded five tackles (four solo) and a fumble recovery in Sunday's 34-6 loss to the Eagles.
The outside linebacker replaced starter DeMarvion Overshown after the latter exited the game with a knee injury in the third quarter. Overshown's injury is not believed to be serious, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. That could limit Liufau's playing time moving forward, as he has only played on more than 50 percent of the defensive snaps once this season.
