EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Running back Malik Davis will miss the 2026 season after a hip injury in Friday’s practice at The Star. Davis had surgery Saturday, and the Dallas Cowboys placed him on injured reserve the same day, without a designation to return. He had won the No. 2 job behind Javonte Williams in a competition that ran through most of August.
Before Sunday night’s opener against the New York Giants, Jerry Jones said the injury cost the Cowboys a player he expected to contribute.
“Well, boy, not only was it a tragedy for him, relative to this season, but for us as well because he had really, I liked the way he had earned it and what he had done over a two-year period here,” Jones said. “I was really thinking he could be an integral contributor. And so it’s a loss. So we’ll see what these guys can do.”
Malik Davis’ Injury And The Cowboys’ Roster Move
Davis was carted off the field Friday. The session was an outdoor non-contact practice, run a step above a walk-through.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said that afternoon on 105.3 The Fan that the injury looked serious.
“Unfortunately, I think he’s looking at a pretty serious injury that could take him out for some period of time,” Stephen Jones said.
The surgery came the next morning, the day the team flew to New Jersey. Dallas signed Israel Abanikanda from the practice squad to the active roster in the corresponding move, taking Davis’ spot on the 53. Abanikanda was inactive Sunday.
Davis signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Florida in 2022 and spent two of the next three seasons on the practice squad. He has 25 career games and no starts. Over four years in Dallas he ran 90 times for 411 yards and 3 touchdowns and caught 8 passes for 79 yards.
Last season Davis played 10 games and carried 52 times for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns, adding 2 receptions for 16 yards. He ran for 103 yards on 20 carries against Washington in Week 17. He signed a two-year, $2.18 million contract with Dallas in November. The Cowboys waived Jaydon Blue at the end of the preseason, leaving Davis with the backup job outright.
Emari Demercado And Israel Abanikanda Behind Javonte Williams
Emari Demercado moved to No. 2 on the depth chart for the opener. Dallas claimed him off waivers from Kansas City on Aug. 31, part of a run of moves that included signing 13 practice squad players.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the staff had a read on Demercado before the claim.
“Emari is a guy that [offensive coordinator] Klayton [Adams] has exposure to,” Schottenheimer said.
Demercado went undrafted out of TCU in 2023 and spent three seasons in Arizona. He has 819 career rushing yards at 6.5 per carry with 3 touchdowns, 50 receptions for 324 yards and 1 touchdown, and 150 kickoff return yards.
Abanikanda went to the New York Jets in the fifth round in 2023, 143rd overall, out of Pittsburgh. He has 22 career carries for 70 yards and 7 receptions for 43 yards, all of it as a rookie, and he has not appeared in a regular-season game since. He ran for 1,431 yards and 20 touchdowns at Pittsburgh in 2022 and was a first-team All-ACC selection that year. He spent last season on the practice squad in Green Bay and then in Dallas, was released at final cuts in August, and re-signed to the practice squad.
Williams started at running back Sunday. He ran 252 times for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns in 16 games last season, his first with the Cowboys, and caught 35 passes for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dallas signed him to a three-year, $24 million extension in February. He was a second-round pick, 35th overall, by Denver in 2021.
Fullback Hunter Luepke is also on the roster. Dallas made the trip to New Jersey with 3 running backs and Luepke.
The Cowboys host the Washington Commanders in the home opener Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
