The Dallas Cowboys suffered a significant injury scare at running back with their Week 1 game against the New York Giants just days away. 

According to Clarence Hill from DLLS Sports, Cowboys running back Malik Davis was carted off the practice field with an injury. Hill reported that Dallas is looking into the severity of the situation, but “it doesn’t look good for Sunday at the moment.” Calvin Watkins from Dallas Morning News reported it’s a hip injury. 

It’s a highly unfortunate event for Davis, who was in line to be the Cowboys’ No. 2 running back after a training camp and preseason in which he stood out over the likes of Phil Mafah and Jaydon Blue. Losing him, even temporarily, creates a real problem for a backfield that was already thin.

UPDATE: Todd Archer of ESPN confirmed Davis is ruled out for Sunday’s season opener against the Giants.

What this means for the Cowboys’ running back rotation

I don’t think the Cowboys are worried about starting Javonte Williams. However, the depth and the rotation behind him were already looking razor thin. Now you delete Malik Davis from that equation.

Assuming Davis indeed does not play on Sunday, that would leave the Cowboys with only Williams, Emari Demercado (whom they acquired off waivers after cuts), and fullback Hunter Luepke on the 53-man roster. Dallas also has Israel Abanikanda on its 17-man practice squad, who could be an elevation come Saturday. But this is definitely not an ideal group.

Williams signed a 3-year contract earlier in the year after a breakout 2025 season, but the Cowboys’ vision for him was never as a workhorse running back playing all downs. Their goal was for him to be part of a running back committee. In 2025, that committee was supposed to include Miles Sanders, who suffered an injury early in the year, and then-rookie Jaydon Blue. Going into 2026, it’s a similar problem. Williams is now in line to be close to a 3-down back, which was never the plan.

Emari Demercado’s role just got bigger

That being said, the acquisition of Demercado becomes even more important. He’s a nice change-of-pace player who has had limited playing time so far in his NFL career. He does provide explosive plays to the Cowboys offense, though. He’s a good pass blocker and he can be a reliable pass catcher.

“This guy’s got, I think, 20 explosives over the last couple years,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said of Demercado earlier in the month. “And some of that’s been with (Cowboys OC Klayton Adams), off some of the G schemes and the counter schemes that they’ve been running. Got very good vision. He’s a buildup speed guy that’s got explosive playmaking ability.”

Do expect him to play frequently for Dallas in Week 1.

A silver lining against Giants

Fortunately for the Cowboys, the Giants had one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL last year. New York beefed up in several areas on defense, but at defensive tackle, I’d argue they took a step back by losing Dexter Lawrence. The linebacker room is not the strength of the Giants defense, either.

I do expect the Cowboys offense to be able to operate on Sunday. But hopefully Davis’s injury is not a long-term issue, because this running back room already looks thin. Losing the player in line to be your No. 2 back days before Week 1 is certainly not ideal.