FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys waived running back Emari Demercado and tight end D.J. Rogers on Tuesday afternoon, the team announced through Dallas Cowboys Public Relations.
The moves came the day after Dallas beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-21 at Lincoln Financial Field to improve to 3-4. Demercado was one of five Cowboys inactive for that game.
Emari Demercado Waived For The Second Time This Month
Dallas first waived Demercado on Oct. 8 to clear a roster spot for All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith, who came off injured reserve after thumb surgery. Five days later, after releasing offensive lineman Nick Leverett, the Cowboys re-signed Demercado to the 53-man roster. Leverett came back on the practice squad the same day.
Demercado has not appeared in a game since returning. Dallas listed him inactive for the 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 18 and again Monday night in Philadelphia. In two games with the Cowboys, he carried five times for 15 yards.
Final roster cuts on Aug. 30 left Javonte Williams and Malik Davis as the only running backs on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster. Dallas claimed Demercado off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs the next day and waived quarterback Joe Milton III to open the spot. He had signed a one-year contract with Kansas City in March.
The call from Dallas came a day after the Chiefs cut him, and it brought Demercado back to North Texas.
“It’s been a roller coaster,” Demercado said. “Getting cut, nobody’s excited about that, but to get the call that I was coming back here, I just bought a house here this summer, so I couldn’t have written it better.”
Offensive coordinator Klayton Adams coached Demercado with the Arizona Cardinals before coming to Dallas. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the day of the claim that Demercado would contribute on special teams.
“Emari’s a guy that Klayton has some exposure to,” Schottenheimer said. “Good veteran that plays special teams, and there are a lot of good things that we’re excited about with him.”
Arizona signed Demercado as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and he played 40 games for the Cardinals over three seasons. He carried 126 times for 819 yards and three touchdowns in Arizona and caught 50 passes for 324 yards and another score. His 312 rushing yards on 44 carries in 2025 were a career high.
Adams phoned Demercado himself once the claim went through, right after his agent did.
“Klay’s my guy,” Demercado explained. “As soon as my agent called me and told me it was Dallas, I just immediately thought about Klayton. And then he called me. I’m super excited to work with him again.”
Davis went on injured reserve with a hip injury on Sept. 12. Three days later, the Cowboys signed Tyler Goodson off the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad. Goodson has been the backup behind Williams since the Week 3 game in Rio de Janeiro, when Dallas made Demercado a healthy scratch. Williams carried 25 times for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles on Monday.
D.J. Rogers Waived From Injured Reserve
Rogers did not appear in a regular-season game for Dallas. The Cowboys signed him as an undrafted free agent out of TCU in April, and he sprained the MCL in his knee late in the preseason.
On Aug. 30, Dallas waived Rogers with an injury designation. He went unclaimed and reverted to the Cowboys’ injured reserve list the next day.
Outside linebacker Marist Liufau is coming back from forearm surgery. Safety P.J. Locke has a foot injury. Both are still on injured reserve, and Dallas opened their 21-day practice windows last week before ruling the two of them out for Monday’s game in Philadelphia.
Sunday’s game against Arizona at AT&T Stadium kicks off at noon CT on FOX.
