The Cowboys are making another familiar move in the backfield, bringing Emari Demercado back into the fold on the practice squad.
Dallas announced Tuesday that it signed the running back, while also adding guard Nick Leverett to the practice squad and releasing cornerback Alex Austin from the practice squad.
Demercado’s path back to Dallas has already taken a few turns this year. The former TCU standout first joined the Cowboys in August after being claimed off waivers. Before that, he had signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in March, only to be released by the AFC West team.
He comes with some NFL mileage, too. Demercado spent three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals from 2023 to 2025, appearing in 40 games with two starts. In that span, he posted 819 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 126 carries, while also adding 324 receiving yards and a score on 50 catches for 70 targets.
The Cowboys have already used him in 2026. Demercado logged a couple of carries for seven yards in Week 1’s loss to the New York Giants, then picked up eight rushing yards on three attempts in a win over the Washington Commanders the next week.
For now, he’s being used as insurance at running back as Dallas tries to settle things behind Javonte Williams. The Cowboys are coming off a 24-16 Week 5 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with Williams carrying the load and Tyler Goodson working as the top backup. Williams leads the team with 276 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 74 carries through five weeks.
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