Been a rough 24 hours for the Cowboys’ rookie running backs, and Monday made the message even clearer: Dallas is done waiting.
After waiving Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, the Cowboys announced their 2026 practice squad and neither back got a spot after clearing waivers unclaimed. For two players who both had a chance to win the backup job, it was a harsh ending.
The bigger jolt came in who Dallas chose to keep instead. The Cowboys added Israel Abanikanda to the practice squad, making him their third team in as many years, and he beat out both Blue and Mafah for one of the limited spots. That’s a pretty brutal way to close the door.
Dallas also claimed Emari Demercado, and the team now has five running backs in the room: Javonte Williams, Malik Davis, Emari Demercado, Hunter Luepke, and Abanikanda. It may not be a top-15 backfield in the league, but Blue and Mafah still couldn’t crack it.
Mafah’s case never really caught fire because he wasn’t healthy long enough to climb past Malik Davis on the depth chart. Plenty of fans figured he’d land on the practice squad anyway, especially since he’s the patient, downhill type of runner. He was also drafted two rounds later than Blue.
Blue’s exit stings in a different way. Put Mafah’s professionalism and running style together with Blue’s athleticism, and you’d have something real.
Instead, Dallas got a player whose talent never outweighed the concerns that followed him from Texas. Had he locked in, there was a significant role waiting for him in the offense.
Those questions about his professionalism and maturity ended up mattering, and they helped push the Cowboys to move on.
Brian Schottenheimer made the team’s stance obvious Monday.
"It's not that Jaydon didn't do anything," Schottenheimer said." It's that Malik Davis did things.
We were heavy at safety ... It's more about these other guys doing certain things that we felt like they were deserving a spot on this roster.
And again, I really wish Jaydon nothing but the best. He's a talented, talented young man. I'm sure he's gonna land on his feet and have an awesome, awesome career."
That’s a polished way of saying Dallas wasn’t convinced Blue had made the kind of progress it wanted after he was benched for most of his rookie year. It’s a long way from what the Cowboys likely pictured when they arrived in Oxnard in late July, but the staff clearly wasn’t afraid to cut bait.
Abanikanda, meanwhile, earned every bit of this chance. He has no connection to the current coaching staff or front office, yet he stayed in the mix by running hard and running efficiently all summer. His downhill, physical style fits Klayton Adams’ scheme, which makes him a sensible practice-squad stash and a possible call-up depending on the matchup.
In the end, Dallas choosing Abanikanda over Blue and Mafah says plenty about what this staff values right now: reliability now, upside later if it ever arrives.
For two former draft picks, that has to hurt.
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