The Dallas Cowboys took a hit to their running back depth this week. The Houston Texans claimed running back Emari Demercado off waivers, so Demercado is now on Houston’s 53-man roster instead of heading back to the Cowboys’ practice squad.

I’ll admit I’m speculating a bit here, because we don’t know for sure what the Cowboys intended when they waived Demercado earlier in the week. But my first assumption was that Dallas was clearing a roster spot for players returning from injured reserve. The Cowboys recently opened the practice windows for safety PJ Locke and outside linebacker Marist Liufau.

My thinking was simple. The Cowboys would open up a roster spot, let Demercado clear waivers, and add him back to the practice squad. That’s not a wild assumption, either. Dallas had already done that earlier in the year.

Demercado had been part of the Cowboys’ roster shuffle

Demercado has been bouncing around the Cowboys’ roster for a while. He’s mostly been inactive on game days ever since Dallas acquired Tyler Goodson from the Atlanta Falcons.

Over the last couple of weeks, Demercado was a healthy scratch. Before that, the Cowboys waived him, signed him to the practice squad, and then promoted him back to the 53-man roster. 

This time though, they won’t get the chance to bring him back. The Texans saw to that.

If I’m right that the Cowboys wanted to stash Demercado on the practice squad again (and again, there’s no real way of knowing that), I wonder if they look outside the building for additional depth.

Here’s why. Beyond Javonte Williams and Goodson, the only other running backs on the team are practice squad running back Israel Abanikanda and Malik Davis. The latter is on season-ending injured reserve. That’s thin.

I don’t expect this to be a major hit to the roster. Demercado wasn’t suiting up on Sundays, after all. Still, it’s noteworthy. Dallas loses a player I really thought was going back to the practice squad, and that leaves a question mark at running back.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cowboys sign somebody in the next week or so as they continue to shuffle the roster.

What to watch for with PJ Locke and Marist Liufau

There’s another storyline to keep an eye on later this week. Locke and Liufau already practiced last week after the Cowboys opened their 21-day practice windows.

That means it would make sense for Dallas to activate both of them from injured reserve for Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Locke’s role is obvious. He’s one of your high-end backup safeties, and I’d expect him to play alongside Malik Cooker, with Caleb Downs staying at nickel. That arrangement would likely hold at least until the Cowboys get back Jalen Thompson, who should be eligible to return from injured reserve going into Week 8.

However, the Cowboys haven’t provided any update on Thompson so far.

Liufau is a tougher puzzle. Dallas has a somewhat crowded room at outside linebacker, so it’s fair to wonder what his role would look like once he’s back.

I wrote about this earlier in the month, and I explained why I could see Liufau taking over Tyrus Wheat’s spot at outside linebacker. Most of that value would come on special teams, which is clearly where the Cowboys like him.

That brings us back to the roster math. If Locke and Liufau both return, roster flexibility isn’t a luxury Dallas has, and every spot matters. The Cowboys already gave one up with Demercado, and they didn’t get the outcome they likely expected.

For now, we wait to see whether Dallas adds a running back or rolls with what it has.