Oof. The Dallas Cowboys just got hit with a gut punch, officially placing running back Malik Davis on injured reserve this Saturday. That means he’s sidelined for at least four games, a huge blow after he went down with a hip injury at practice on Friday. This kind of sudden roster shake-up, especially in the regular season, can throw a real wrench into a team’s offensive plans.
Losing Davis Creates a Hole in Dallas’s Backfield
Losing Davis is no small thing for Dallas. The guy was undrafted back in 2022, but he carved out a real spot for himself, spending his entire career with the Cowboys. He proved his worth just last year in 2025, racking up 52 carries for 250 yards and finding the end zone twice. Those are solid numbers for a guy who wasn’t the starter, and they showed he could be a reliable change-of-pace or short-yardage option. Now, he’s out, and it leaves a huge hole, forcing the team to scramble for solutions and relying on less experienced talent. That kind of sudden shift early in the season can totally throw off an offense’s rhythm, especially when you’re talking about running back rotations.
The New Faces Are a Real Question Mark
With Davis on the shelf, the Cowboys quickly moved to fill that open roster spot, signing Israel Abanikanda from their practice squad. Abanikanda’s got a bit of a journey behind him, originally a fifth-round pick by the Jets in 2023 before landing on Dallas’s practice squad last November. He was with them through all of offseason workouts, training camp, and preseason on the 90-man roster, only to be waived on August 30. Now he’s back, but can he step up immediately?
Then you have Emari Demarcado. He’s the other running back on the active roster, backing up starter Javonte Williams. Demarcado was a waiver claim after the Chiefs released him just last month, also on August 30. What’s he best known for? Oh, just dropping the ball early on what *should* have been a 72-yard touchdown run in a game where the Cardinals were dominating the Titans. And guess what? The Titans ended up winning that game. So yeah, the confidence level around that guy probably isn’t exactly sky-high for fans in the Emerald City, or anywhere else for that matter. The team is really counting on some unproven or famously-flawed talent right now.
Big Test Against the Giants on Sunday Night
This whole running back shake-up comes right as the Cowboys are gearing up for a big road test. They’re heading to face the Giants on Sunday night. With Davis out and a couple of relatively unproven guys stepping into bigger roles, the pressure is squarely on the rest of that offense, and especially on starter Javonte Williams. How this patchwork backfield performs on national television against a division rival is going to tell us a whole lot about where Dallas stands and whether they can weather this early season storm. It’s gonna be wild to watch.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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