FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys placed running back Malik Davis on injured reserve Saturday and signed running back Israel Abanikanda to the active roster from the practice squad, one day before the season opener at the New York Giants.
Davis was carted off the practice field at The Star on Friday with a hip injury and was ruled out of Sunday night’s game later that afternoon. Surgery was scheduled for Saturday.
Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones, asked about the injury on 105.3 The Fan on Friday before the team had full results, said Davis was facing “a pretty serious injury that could take him out for some period of time.”
Davis won the No. 2 job behind Javonte Williams in a competition that ran through most of August. He ran 12 times for 68 yards in two preseason games. At Arizona on Aug. 22, he caught an 8-yard touchdown pass.
Last season Davis ran 52 times for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns in 10 games, with a long run of 43. He played 155 offensive snaps and 147 on special teams. Cowboys special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen was asked about him Thursday, a day before the injury.
“He can play wing on punt,” Sorensen said.
Davis signed with Dallas as an undrafted rookie out of Florida in 2022. He has 90 carries for 411 yards and 3 touchdowns in 25 career games.
Israel Abanikanda Takes The Open Roster Spot
Abanikanda spent the past two weeks on the practice squad. Dallas waived him Aug. 31 in the cuts to 53 and signed him back to the practice squad Sept. 1.
The New York Jets drafted Abanikanda in the fifth round in 2023, 143rd overall. He ran 22 times for 70 yards in 6 games as a rookie and has not appeared in a regular-season game since. He was with the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers before Dallas signed him to its practice squad on Nov. 30 and gave him a reserve/futures contract on Jan. 6. In the preseason opener at Seattle on Aug. 15, he ran 7 times for 16 yards and caught 3 passes for 16 yards.
A team can elevate two practice squad players on a game day without signing either one. Each player is capped at three elevations before the team has to add him to the 53-man roster. Dallas went straight to the roster spot Saturday. That leaves an opening on the 17-man practice squad.
Dallas Cowboys Backfield Behind Javonte Williams
Williams carried 252 times for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, his first in Dallas, and caught 35 passes for 137 yards and 2 scores in 16 games. Dallas gave him a three-year extension in February, the first extension the front office handed out this offseason.
Emari Demercado is next in line. Dallas claimed him off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 1, a day after Kansas City waived him. He spent three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, where Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams worked before coming to Dallas, and has 126 carries for 819 yards and 3 touchdowns in 40 career games with 50 catches for 324 yards. Fullback Hunter Luepke is the other back on the roster.
Davis is the second Cowboys contributor to land on injured reserve this month. Left guard Tyler Smith had thumb surgery at the start of the week and will miss at least the first four games.
Kickoff at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is Sunday at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
