Tag: Malik Davis

Follow the Money: Breakdown of Cowboys RBs salaries, cap hits

A breakdown of the cap spending at the running back position and how despite the cupboard being bare, there’s a sizable chunk being spent at the spot. | From @ArmyChiefW3

As quarterback takes up an enormous percentage of the Dallas Cowboys salary cap for 2024, something they should hope to reduce before the new league year begins, other positions have taken a back seat in how Stephen Jones’ proverbial pie has been divided. And while recent years have seen a sizable investment in the pasture where the bell cows have grazed, that will likely not be the case for the upcoming season.

The lack of a run game in Dallas is a huge concern, but the problem has a clear path to recovery. And while the solution may reside more along the offensive line and its performance, the club will still need to add additional investments to the running back room as it will more than likely look significantly different come training camp. With the top two backs hitting unrestricted free agency, here’s what the Cowboys currently have under contract to replace Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle’s contributions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cowboys 55-man roster for Week 16: Tyron Smith out, but no OL elevations vs Dolphins

The Cowboys are without their starting left tackle, but aren’t making any roster moves to account for it. Here’s what they did and didn’t do ahead of the clash with the water mammals. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have ruled left tackle Tyron Smith out for their Week16 game against the Miami Dolphins. The future Hall of Famer has been outstanding all season, but sometime during the loss to Buffalo last week, he tweaked his back. Unable to practice all week he was originally given a doubtful designation, but on Saturday he was ruled out.

He will not fly to Florida with the club. Chuma Edoga will replace him in the starting lineup. Dallas did not make any roster moves related to Smith, though, as second-year tackle Matt Waletzko was not activated from IR despite practicing for the last couple of weeks. The team did elevate two practice squad players, however.

Both DT Carl Davis and RB Malik Davis are being brought up to make it a 55-man roster. This is the running back’s final elevation for the season. Carl Davis is moving up in response to Johnathan Hankins’ leg injury, as the big nose tackle will miss his second-straight week.

In Week 15, Carl Davis saw 14 snaps on defense. Malik Davis saw 16 special teams snaps, but none on offense.

Here’s a look at the full roster, before Dallas announces their inactives list ahead of Sunday’s kickoff.

 

Quarterbacks (3)
Running Backs (4)
Wideouts (6)
Tight Ends (4)
Offensive Tackles (3)
Offensive Guards (4)
Centers (2)

Defensive Ends (4)
Defensive Tackles (5)
Linebacker (4)
Cornerbacks (6)
Safeties (6)

Special Teams (3)

Cowboys 55-man roster for Week 15: Elevations reveal needs in run game, defense

The Cowboys have added both a running back and a DT in preparation for the rain-soaked field in Buffalo. Here’s a look at the full roster.

The Cowboys are looking within their own ranks to fill the hole left by last week’s injury to Johnathan Hankins.

The team has elevated Carl Davis to the game-day roster for Sunday’s showdown with the Buffalo Bills. The 31-year old veteran defensive tackle was signed to the practice squad in mid-November.

The 335-pounder, a former third-round draft pick, has been with seven teams over five years; he is now poised to make his Cowboys debut in Orchard Park.

Running back Malik Davis has also been called up from the Dallas practice squad, given Rico Dowdle’s seemingly ongoing ankle issue. The 2022 undrafted free agent out of Florida saw action in 12 games last season; he’s played just 15 special teams this season, all in Week 6’s win over the Chargers.

Davis will help provide depth behind starter Tony Pollard on a day when game-time conditions in Buffalo are expected to be wet.

Quarterbacks (3)
Running Backs (4)
Wideouts (6)
Tight Ends (4)
Offensive Tackles (3)
Offensive Guards (4)
Centers (2)

Defensive Ends (4)
Defensive Tackles (5)
Linebacker (4)
Cornerbacks (6)
Safeties (6)

Special Teams (3)

 

 

55-man roster, Week 6 elevations reveals 6 different Cowboys moves

A look at the Cowboys’ roster they’ll choose from for the Week 6 battle against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Dallas Cowboys made an acquisition this week, moved a player to IR and yet somehow they didn’t do much of what was expected. It appeared, in their embarrassing loss to the San Francisco 49ers, they lost three key players to injury for a lengthy period of time. Yet when looking at the injury report and transactions for the week, things didn’t unfold as expected. Until gameday.

Leighton Vander Esch and CJ Goodwin were ruled out of this game on Saturday, yet they stayed on the 53-man roster until moving to IR on Monday. The IR move of the early week went to TE Peyton Hendershot, who missed last week’s game after a mid-week ankle injury. His spot on the roster was taken by veteran Sean McKeon. WR Kavontae Turpin was though to be seriously injured, but he was a full participant by the end of the week and carries no game designation.

The club added a linebacker to the practice squad during the week, but Rashaan Evans isn’t ready to suit up and wasn’t one of the game-day elevations on Monday to face off against the Los Angeles Chargers. Instead, the club elevated a running back and a different linebacker, bringing up Malik Davis and Malik Jefferson.

After finally moving Vander Esch and Goodwin to IR, the club promoted UDFA rookie edge Tyrus Wheat and activated cornerback Nahshon Wright from IR. Here’s a full accounting of the club’s 55-man roster before inactives are announced.

Quarterbacks (3)
Running Backs (5)
Wideouts (6)
Tight Ends (3)
Offensive Tackles (3)
Offensive Guards (4)
Centers (2)

Defensive Ends (5)
Defensive Tackles (5)
Linebacker (4)
Cornerbacks (6)
Safeties (6)

Special Teams (3)

3 Cowboys storylines as preseason winds down

With just one contest left, the preseason games have laid the groundwork for these three storylines that will soon play out. | From @cdpiglet

The Dallas Cowboys were shown the difference between a true preseason loss and one on the scoreboard Saturday night; suffering major injuries to two young players who were having a great camp. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and tight end John Stephens Jr., saw their 2023 storylines end that night.

The team, however, has one more game against the Las Vegas Raiders before cut downs and the roster is still loaded with talent. Injuries hurt, but the team has to stay focused on the best way to put a championship roster together. Here are some of the roster-based storylines coming off of the Cowboys second preseason game.

Why the Cowboys should try to claim RB Darrell Henderson Jr.

It might be a long shot, but there’s several reasons why the Cowboys should place a waiver claim on the recently released Rams starter. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have one of, if not the best running back tandems in the entire NFL. The havoc possible with their new version of Thunder and Lightning was on full display Sunday in Minnesota. Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott combined for four touchdowns on the day, doing what they currently do best. And that’s exactly why they need to go out and secure help.

Wait, what? That’s right, because of how well Elliott and Pollard are working together, Dallas needs to consider getting help. They likely won’t win the waiver claim, but they absolutely should put one in on recently released Rams running back Darrell Henderson. Here’s why.

CBS Sports bowl projections has Florida playing this team

CBS Sports has released its latest bowl projections, with the Florida Gators taking on a Big Ten team in the Reliaquest Bowl in the new year.

CBS Sports has updated their bowl projections for the 2022 college football postseason, with the Florida Gators projected to play the Purdue Boilermakers in the Reliaquest Bowl.

Formerly known as the Outback Bowl, the Reliaquest Bowl is currently scheduled to be played on Jan. 2 in Tampa, Florida, with kickoff set for noon EST.

The Gators are coming off a 38-6 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks, clinching bowl eligibility in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first season as head coach. Offensively, the Gators continued to dominate on the ground. They recorded 374 rushing yards, led by true freshman [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag]’s 100 rushing yards.

He is the first freshman to rush for 100-plus yards in a game since [autotag]Malik Davis[/autotag] in 2017. Defensively, the Gators set the tone early, disrupting quarterback Spencer Rattler all game long. The Gamecocks’ only points came on a fake punt and Florida’s defense has not allowed a touchdown in six quarters.

Purdue is coming off a 31-24 upset win on the road against Illinois. With their win, Purdue now sits atop the Big Ten West division. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Boilermakers. They now sit at 6-4 and have two games remaining on the season: Northwestern (Home), and Indiana (Away). If they win both games, they would make their first-ever appearance in the Big Ten championship game. They have not won a Big Ten conference championship since 2000.

Purdue takes on Northwestern on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. EST on FS1. Florida will travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt in their final SEC game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for noon. EST and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Running Backs

Is it finally Nay’Quan Wright’s time to shine at Florida or will the Louisiana transfer who followed his coach win out the starting running back job?

The quarterback controversy in Gainesville during the 2021 season may have overshadowed how badly the running back room was handled, but there’s hope [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and position coach [autotag]Jabbar Juluke[/autotag] will provide the right template for success on the ground in their first season at Florida.

Unfortunately, the team lost its top two running backs from a year ago to the NFL. [autotag]Dameon Pierce[/autotag], who didn’t hit the 10-carry mark in a game until after [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] was fired, now looks like a legitimate part of the Houston Texans‘ backfield, and [autotag]Malik Davis[/autotag] recently rushed for 51 yards on eight carries in a preseason game for the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. Losing both to the pros left just [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright[/autotag] on the roster with a decent amount of SEC experience under his belt.

Napier brought over one of his players, [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag], from Louisiana through the transfer portal and there’s still former five-star [autotag]Lorenzo Lingard[/autotag] to consider. All three should see carries throughout the season, and there’s even a chance [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] sees some action as a true freshman.

In 2021, Napier’s Louisiana team scored 34 of its 53 offensive touchdowns on the ground and three backs broke the 500-yard mark — two eclipsing 800 yards. A similar mix could be in store for his first year at Florida, and at least Johnson has played in Napier’s system before.

Here’s a look at all eight running backs listed on the 2022 Florida Gators’ fall roster.

See also:

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks

A 2021 All Pro picking up where he left off among Cowboys 3 stars

The performance as a team wasn’t anything to right home about, but there were some individual efforts to celebrate. | From @CDPiglet

The Dallas Cowboys started 2022 a lot like they ended 2021, committing 17 penalties for 129 yards. Those penalties extended three scoring drives for the Denver Broncos, and also cost Dallas such as an interception for the defense and big plays both rushing and passing for the offense. Going into the fourth quarter the Cowboys had more penalty yards than they had rushing or passing yards.

It might be hard to find stars in a sloppy, noncompetitive contest, but there were some bright spots for the Cowboys in Denver.

Cowboys UDFA RB Davis plants flag in depth-chart competition, impresses vs Broncos

The former Florida Gator made his case to be in consideration for a roster spot with his performance against the Broncos’ defense. | From @Ju_BeLegendary

The Cowboys lost their pre-season opener to the Denver Broncos, 17-7, at Empower Field at Mile High and to say this game was hard on the eyes would be an understatement. Offensively, the Cowboys couldn’t get going through much of the game, and to make matters worse their recurring issue with penalties was on full display. Dallas finished the game with an abysmal 17 penalties for 129 yards. Defensively the Cowboys played well in stretches but struggled in contested catch situations allowing the Broncos to put together scoring drives mostly due to the fact they gave up explosive plays on the back end.

It wasn’t all bad for the Cowboys, one of areas they can feel good about going into the week of practice is how their running backs performed. All three of the Cowboys running backs averaged at least four yards per carry. Rico Dowdle started the game and finished with 36 yards on nine carries. Aaron Shampklin mixed in throughout and finished with 32 yards on seven carries. The most impressive of the three though, and the Player of the Game was another UDFA rookie, Malik Davis.

Davis easily led both teams in rushing yards ending the game with eight carries for 51 yards and a very impressive 6.4 yards per carry. He also put his receiving skills on display adding three receptions for 16 yards a 5.3 yard per catch average. The former Florida Gator was very decisive as a runner, using his vision to scan for run lanes and accelerate through holes. He also did a good running with power as he looked to finish runs when contact was finally made.

Davis had the third-longest play from scrimmage and was one of the few players who seemed to have juice when he touched the ball. It’s safe to say 11 touches wasn’t enough for him but going forward into next week’s game he should become a player the Cowboys continue to lean on offensively to get things going.

The undrafted free agent is still in an uphill battle to make the roster even though it appears the Cowboys plan to keep three running backs as Dowdle is the favorite. But the battle is not over as Davis looks to prove he at least deserves a practice squad spot.

He has had a good camp so far showing off his skill set both as a runner and receiver out the backfield. If he can make an impact on special teams that will go a long way to ensure he has a spot on the roster. He is sure to see plenty of work in the final two preseason games and with another impressive performance like he had Saturday he could really start to push Dowdle for that third running back spot.

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