Yesterday, Dallas’s RB2, Malik Davis, went down with what appears to be a major hip injury; he’s going on injured reserve, and he will undergo hip surgery as well. This will give one Cowboys practice squad player a major and unexpected chance at snaps on Sunday night.
Israel Abanikanda, a 23-year-old Brooklyn native, has been with Dallas since 2025 and performed well enough in the 2026 preseason to land on the practice squad.
Essentially, he was the emergency RB4 behind Javonte Williams, Davis, and the recently-acquired Emari Demercado. Now, with Davis down and out for the foreseeable future, Abanikanda will be elevated from the PS to the active roster on game days, unless they acquire a Davis replacement.
Here, I’ll cover what you need to know about Dallas’s new option at running back so you can be prepared if he starts taking snaps against the Giants in Week 1.
Israel Abanikanda: Background & Skill Set of Cowboys RB3
Last NFL Stats (2023 season for Jets): 6 Games, 22 Carries, 70 Yards, 3.2 Yards per Attempt, 0 Touchdowns.
During his college days at Pittsburgh, Abanikanda exploded onto the national stage with a 1,400-yard season in 2022; he even broke Pitt’s single-game rushing yards record with 320, surpassing school legend and Cowboys Ring of Honor member Tony Dorsett.
Despite that massive season, he didn’t hear his name called on Draft Day until the fifth round in 2023, when the Jets took a chance on him. Earlier in the process, he ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at 5’10”, 215 lbs.
Abanikanda played just six games that rookie season as a Jet, which is where all of his career stats come from, before being waived the following December in 2024.
Since then, he’s bounced between the 49ers, Packers, and Cowboys with practice squad stints. Dallas is actually the only stop between those three where he continued with the organization beyond one season, as the front office extended a reserve/futures contract to him this winter.
The 23-year-old did show some real promise in camp with the Cowboys this summer, however, and he has some fans inside the building.
He played in all three preseason games for Dallas in 2026, and his debut was his strongest outing, as he ran for 36 yards on seven attempts (5.1 per carry). There was also some success as a return man, but we know he won’t be doing that unless KaVontae Turpin goes down with an injury.
Overall, Abanikanda is one of the more fun Cowboys practice squad players, and he has some legitimate power in his rushing style. I’m hoping Dallas gives him a chance to pop in the season debut.
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