FRISCO, Texas — Brian Schottenheimer said Malik Davis‘ work, not any shortcoming from Jaydon Blue, is what cost Blue a roster spot with the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas waived Blue on Sunday and claimed running back Emari Demercado off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. The Cowboys opened the week with Javonte Williams, Davis, and fullback Hunter Luepke at the position.
Dallas was heavy at safety and kept 6 there.
“It’s not that Jaydon didn’t do anything. It’s that Malik Davis did things,” Schottenheimer said. “There’s different positions like, you know, 53. We were going to reach out to the league and see if they let us keep 55 or 56. And we decided we probably shouldn’t call. But it’s more about these other guys doing certain things that we felt like they were deserving a spot on this roster. So I really wish Jaydon nothing but the best. He’s a talented young man, and I’m sure he’s going to land on his feet and have an awesome, awesome career.”
Jaydon Blue And Phil Mafah Were Not Promised A Practice Squad Spot
Joe Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News asked whether Blue and Phil Mafah were told Dallas had interest in bringing them back.
“We said to both those guys that we’re not sure that it would go that direction,” Schottenheimer explained. “And that’s as honest as I could be with them.”
Blue was the 149th pick in the 2025 draft. He carried 23 times for a team-high 94 yards in the preseason and caught 2 passes for 15 yards. As a rookie he ran 38 times for 129 yards.
Mafah went 239th overall in 2025, played 1 game, rushed 5 times for 18 yards and a touchdown, and caught 2 passes for 11 yards.
Dallas Cowboys Running Back Room After The Emari Demercado Claim
Williams ran 252 times for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns last season and caught 35 passes for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. Davis rushed for 250 yards and set a career high with 105 against Minnesota on Dec. 14.
There are a lot of able-bodied running backs available, and Schottenheimer said the room will be built through the practice squad as well as the 53.
“I feel really good about Javonte. I’ve raved about Malik. Hunter Luepke’s a guy that doesn’t get talked enough about,” Schottenheimer said. “But we feel like we’re going to build a really good running back room from top to bottom, including the practice squad as we finalize that, and one that is very competitive and fits with our model of compete every day.”
Demercado carried 126 times for 819 yards and 3 touchdowns across three seasons in Arizona and caught 50 passes for 324 yards and 1 touchdown. He played his first two seasons under Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, who was the Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach in 2023 and 2024.
Brian Schottenheimer Says The Corresponding Roster Move Is Not Done
Speaking roughly an hour after the claim was reported, Schottenheimer said Dallas had not yet cleared a spot.
“We’ve got a number of guys that we’ve talked to about coming back on the practice squad,” Schottenheimer said. “We don’t say that to everybody, if I’m being honest. You don’t say that to each player because I want to be honest with them.”
Dallas opens the regular season Sept. 13 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
