FRISCO — The NFL draft is a culmination of one journey and the beginning of another. That transition sparked a question to Cowboys rookie Shavon Revel Jr. moments after he was selected in the third round back in April: What advice would you have for your younger self?
“Just take it slow,” Revel said, still coming to grips with the fact that he was just selected. “Take your time. Go at your own pace and learn how to maneuver and go through life and ask questions.”
Seven months later, and more than 14 months after he tore his ACL, Revel will be eligible to make that long-awaited NFL debut when the Cowboys play in Las Vegas against the Raiders on Monday night.
The Cowboys have high hopes for his future. They believed he had first-round talent. He believed that, too, saying after he was selected that he thought he was the top corner in the draft, only falling because of the injury he sustained three games into his final season at East Carolina.
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Dallas Cowboys cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. (34) ran with the ball during Cowboys practice at The Star in Frisco on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Now that the opportunity to play has arrived, Revel hasn’t strayed from the outlook he had on draft night. He was asked on Friday if the recovery process took longer than he expected.
“I didn’t really think into it that much,” said Revel, who’s been a full participant at practice each of the last two days. “I approached it as I play today, not tomorrow, because I can’t control what happens the next day. To that day, I work my hardest, busted my butt, and kept going.”
Time is quantifiable, however. That means there have been a lot of days when Revel has had to practice that outlook. It’ll be 430, to be exact, between his last game in college and Monday’s game against the Raiders.
Going through that daily recovery took constant drive and motivation. Other players have talked about the difficulty of it, especially when they’re held back from actually playing. Revel had two sources of motivation during his recovery.
“I speak about this every day: A lot of people have it worse than I do,” Revel said. “A lot of people can’t talk to other people about it … my mom and dad, too. They worked hard in every situation they had to go through in their life. This wasn’t the worst thing that happened. I know what I could do and what I couldn’t do, so I took it day by day, kept my head above water and approached every day with an intention to get better and better.”
The Cowboys were patient with Revel while that happened. They allowed him time to recover before they opened his 21-day practice window just over three weeks ago. On Tuesday, a day before it ran out, they activated him to the active roster.
In those nearly three weeks of practice, the Cowboys had a chance to see Revel play for the first time. They let him run around on the scout team, which meant plenty of coverage snaps against George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb — two guys who couldn’t have prepared Revel better, he said.
“I talked to them every day. They know I want that work,” Revel said. “When I get that work, I feel like if I had a bad day [at practice], it’s going to make me better on game day.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has indicated they plan to take things slow with Revel. He said they love his ability to be a press-man corner with his nearly 6-2 height and long arms. They’ve loved the way he has approached practice and his rehabilitation.
“I’ve seen the talent. The size jumps out at you. The speed jumps out at you. A little bit like [DeMarvion Overshown], but probably a little bit more, being smart. He’s going to play. We want him to play and I think he’ll play well, but he is young. He is a rookie. He plays a very difficult position.
“I think he’s looking forward to it, but we’ll be smart with how we use him.”
Briefly: Cowboys DT Solomon Thomas missed practice for the second day in a row with a calf injury. Safety Alijah Clark was limited on Thursday, but didn’t practice on Friday as he deals with a ribs injury and an illness. Safety Malik Hooker — in the second day of his 21-day practice window — was limited in practice (toe), as was fellow safety Donovan Wilson (elbow/shoulder). The Cowboys could use some healthy safeties after they placed safety Juanyeh Thomas on the reserve/nonfootball illness list as he deals with migraines. Thomas will miss at least the next four games.
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Hugs for healing: See photos from Cowboys practice at The Star
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