Malik Davis' climb to the Cowboys' No. 2 running back job ended on Friday when he was carted off the practice field with a hip injury and is now set for surgery on Saturday. The move that follows is just as severe: he will be placed on season-ending injured reserve, wiping out the role he had won before the first snap of the regular season.
The injury happened during an outdoor practice at The Star that was non-contact and only slightly above a walk-through, which makes the loss harder to absorb because it came in a setting where the team was trying to keep players fresh. Davis, who had been expected to back up Javonte Williams, had beaten out the rest of the room for the No. 2 job and was in line for real work against the Giants on Sunday night before the setback changed the plan.
Stephen Jones said Davis had done everything the right way and had come from nowhere to earn the job, a rise that fits the path he has taken since joining the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He played in 12 games as a rookie and rushed for 161 yards, spent the next two seasons on the practice squad, then returned in mid-camp last year, made the team and rushed for 103 yards in his only 100-yard game of his career last season, when he finished with 252 yards and two touchdowns.
That history is why Friday's injury lands so hard for Dallas. Davis was not just another camp body; he was a depth answer the Cowboys had grown to trust, and the team had already added Emari Demercado as the third back for depth and special teams help. Now the likely answer is Demercado and Israel Abanikanda, who is on the practice squad, even as the front office tries to absorb another hit to the offense's margin for error.
There is a larger roster strain here, too. DeMarvion Overshown started in New York in Week 1 and suffered a hamstring injury there, and while he might miss some games, he is not expected to go on injured reserve. Against that backdrop, Dallas is losing players it had planned to use, not just players it could spare, and Davis' absence removes one of the few backs who had already proven he could claim a job the hard way. The surgery on Saturday settles the immediate question; the next one is whether the Cowboys can keep that backfield plan intact long enough to get through Sunday night.
