FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys running back Malik Davis has a hip injury and will miss Sunday night’s season opener, Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News reported Friday. Davis is undergoing further testing to determine the severity of the injury. Dallas plays the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Davis was carted off the practice field earlier Friday. Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS Sports first reported the injury at 1:45 p.m. CT and attributed it to a source.
“The Cowboys are looking into severity of it,” Hill wrote. “Doesn’t look good for Sunday at the moment. Hopefully it’s not too serious. Davis was finally getting his opportunity.”
Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Davis left practice in a vehicle. Multiple sources confirmed the hip injury to the newspaper, according to Harris.
“His status is in serious doubt for Sunday night’s opener in New York,” Harris wrote.
Watkins posted Davis’ status at 2:48 p.m. CT, a little more than an hour after Hill’s report. Davis was not listed on the Cowboys’ practice reports Wednesday or Thursday. The final report of the week, with game designations, is due later Friday.
Emari Demercado Next Behind Javonte Williams With Malik Davis Out
Javonte Williams is the starter. He ran 252 times for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He also caught 35 passes for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns.
At the Aug. 30 roster cutdown, Dallas released Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, its fifth- and seventh-round picks in 2025. A day later, the Cowboys claimed Emari Demercado off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs. Demercado is the only back on the 53-man roster other than Williams, Davis, and fullback Hunter Luepke.
Demercado spent his first three NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, where Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams coached the offensive line in 2023 and 2024. Last season, Demercado ran 44 times for 312 yards without a touchdown and caught 13 passes for 101 yards and 1 touchdown. His longest run went for 71 yards. He also returned 3 kickoffs for 86 yards. Over three seasons, he has run 126 times for 819 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Israel Abanikanda is on the practice squad. A fifth-round pick in 2023, 143rd overall, he ran 22 times for 70 yards in 6 games that season. On Aug. 20, the last practice of training camp in Oxnard, California, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Davis and Abanikanda had earned more first-team reps than the rest of the running backs.
Nick Sorensen Detailed Malik Davis’ Kickoff And Punt Roles On Thursday
Davis played 147 special teams snaps and 155 offensive snaps last season, according to Pro Football Reference. On Thursday, a day before he was carted off, Cowboys special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen said Davis had played personal protector on the punt unit and could play wing on punt and several spots on punt return.
“He’s been awesome,” Sorensen said. “He came in and did a heck of a job last year when he played, and he can do a lot of different things for you, which is cool because he’s a running back, so he has the speed and the vision, so he can help out if you need him as a returner. But he also can block. He’s tough, and he can really kind of cover in a lot of different spots on kickoff coverage.”
Since signing with Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Florida in 2022, Davis has played 25 regular-season games and run 90 times for 411 yards and 3 touchdowns. In 10 games last season, he ran 52 times for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns and caught 2 passes for 16 yards.
His 43-yard touchdown run came in a 31-28 Thanksgiving win over Kansas City. On Christmas Day at Washington, Davis ran 20 times for 103 yards in a 30-23 win, the first 100-yard game of his career. Calf and eye injuries from that game sent him to injured reserve Jan. 3, and he missed the regular-season finale at MetLife Stadium the next day.
This summer, Davis ran 7 times for 39 yards in the preseason opener at Seattle on Aug. 15. A week later at Arizona, he ran 5 times for 29 yards and caught an 8-yard touchdown pass in a 34-13 win. Dallas held him out of the Aug. 28 finale against New Orleans.
Kickoff Sunday is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC. It is the 13th time the Cowboys have opened a season against the Giants.
