FRISCO, Texas — Emari Demercado is third on the Dallas Cowboys running back depth chart, behind Javonte Williams and Malik Davis. Dallas claimed him off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. His exact role in the offense is still something he is waiting to find out.
The Cowboys waived Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah on Sunday, leaving Williams, Davis, and fullback Hunter Luepke as the only backs on the initial 53-man roster. Blue, a fifth-round pick in 2025, ran 23 times for 94 yards and caught 2 passes for 15 yards in the preseason, and he is signing with the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad. Mafah was a seventh-round pick out of Clemson the same year. Dallas waived quarterback Joe Milton III on Monday as the corresponding move for the Demercado claim.
Demercado is doing whatever the staff asks of him.
“I have no idea what my role is,” Demercado said. “Like I said, I’m just here to do whatever they ask of me. I try not to focus too much on things that I can’t control, stretch myself out doing stuff like that. I’ve done it before in the past, so I just don’t really put too much thought into that. I just go out there and put one foot in front of the other every day.”
Williams finished 2025 with 1,201 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 252 carries. Dallas gave him a three-year, $24 million extension in the offseason. Davis got into 10 games and totaled 250 yards and 2 touchdowns on 52 carries, averaging 4.8 yards per attempt. He came out of camp ahead of Blue and Mafah for the backup job.
Emari Demercado Has 50 Career Receptions On 70 Targets
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Tuesday that the team liked Demercado’s pass protection, both his grasp of the scheme and his execution of the protection rules, and that it was one of the reasons Dallas put in the claim.
“My game, people always talk about the pass pro, but I think there’s some other abilities that kind of goes under the radar,” Demercado explained. “But it’s kind of fun being a sleeper too.”
Third downs and passing situations accounted for much of Demercado’s work during his three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He has 50 catches on 70 targets for 324 yards and 1 touchdown in 40 career games, including 2 starts. On the ground, Demercado has 819 yards and 3 touchdowns on 126 carries, good for 6.5 yards per attempt.
Emari Demercado Has 150 Career Kick Return Yards
Special teams is work Demercado has taken on before in the league.
“Big part of it,” Demercado said. “Just like I said, in the running back, anything they ask me to do special teams, I’m willing to do it. I’ve done it. So just want to help this team win.”
Demercado handled kick returns in Arizona and has 150 return yards for his career. Schottenheimer said Dallas also liked the different special teams jobs Demercado has handled during his time in the NFL.
Arizona signed Demercado as an undrafted free agent out of TCU in 2023, and he made the initial 53-man roster that August. The Cardinals declined to tender him as a restricted free agent in early March, and he became an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opened March 11. Kansas City agreed to terms with him the next day on a one-year, $1.25 million deal. The Chiefs waived him Sunday during their cutdown to 53 players.
Dallas begins the regular season Sept. 13 at the New York Giants. The Cowboys and Giants kick off at 7:20 p.m. CT from MetLife Stadium on NBC.
