![\"Phil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2291638337-e1787535426756.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Phil Mafah #37 of the Dallas Cowboys <\/p>\n
When the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> opened training camp in Oxnard more than three weeks ago, the roster appeared primed for four running backs. Javonte Williams<\/a> was the clear-cut starter, and fullback Hunter Luepke<\/a>, though he does not get many touches, appeared to be set, as well. That left two 2025 draft picks, Jaydon Blue<\/a> and Phil Mafah<\/a>, to fight it out to decide who would be the backup and who would be the third-stringer behind Williams.<\/p>\n The only probably with that version of the roster, though, was Malik Davis<\/a>, the undrafted fifth-year veteran who is so often overlooked as a critical member of the team\u2019s running back room. And Davis has looked the part here in the preseason, as the got the start in the first game against Seattle and was solid again in the win over Arizona on Saturday. Davis has 12 carries for 68 yards plus a receiving touchdown.<\/p>\n But putting Davis on the 53-man roster means another running back\u2013the Cowboys won\u2019t keep more than four\u2013is out. And that\u2019s not great news, most likely, for Mafah.<\/p>\n Phil Mafah \u2018Has Done Nothing Wrong\u2019<\/p>\n That\u2019s how veteran Cowboys beat reporter Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News sees it. In working out how the Cowboys\u2019 53-man roster is likely to look after two preseason outings, Watkins has Mafah as the odd man out. Williams, Davis, Blue and Luepke, he says, are most likely safe.<\/p>\n The Cowboys love Blue\u2019s speed and are trying to mold him into a better professional\u2013and work with him to make sure he improves ball security. Mafah just might not have a role.<\/p>\n Watkins wrote<\/a>: \u201cPhil Mafah has done nothing wrong here. Davis and Blue just played better in the preseason. Davis is also a personal protector on punts, so that gives him a slight edge. Israel Abanikanda is someone the Cowboys should keep for the practice squad.\u201d<\/p>\n Cowboys Keep Jaydon Blue, Malik Davis Over Phil Mafah<\/p>\n Watkins is not alone in that opinion on Davis\u2019s spot in the Cowboys pecking order\u2013or that Mafah will be let go when roster are trimmed.<\/p>\n At Cowboys Roundtable, Adam Schultz wrote<\/a>, \u201cDavis has now usurped both Blue and Mafah in the running back depth chart after his two preseason games. Yes, Blue did manage 75 yards on 15 carries in Arizona, and Mafah got himself a late touchdown run (14 yards), but maybe the die was already cast, as Davis was pulled early.\u201d<\/p>\n Cowboys beat writer Jon Machota of The Athletic<\/a> also predicts that Davis is the RB2 and Mafah will be cut. \u201cMalik Davis seems to be the player with whom the Cowboys are most comfortable in that role at the moment. He started Saturday and played well,\u201d Machota wrote.<\/p>\n A Cowboys First for Malik Davis?<\/p>\n There will probably be a job in the NFL<\/a> for Mafah somewhere, should the Cowboys let him go. But we should also appreciate the improvement shown by Davis, who scrapped his way onto the team in 2022, and has managed to hang on to a roster spot despite bouncing between the 53-man and the practice squad every season he has been in Dallas.<\/p>\n Coach Brian Schottenheimer likes the consistency and versatility Davis has shown: \u201cWhen you watch those guys compete, Malik \u2014 the guy is consistent. He\u2019s a good football player. He\u2019s good on offense. He\u2019s good on special teams. He\u2019s good in pass protection. He\u2019s a good runner. He runs behind his pads. He makes positive yards. He has not been a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n Davis is in position to make the Cowboys\u2019 active roster out of camp for the first time in his career. And that\u2019s bad news for Mafah.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSean Deveney<\/a> is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Phil Mafah #37 of the Dallas Cowboys When the Dallas Cowboys opened training camp in Oxnard more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-415048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}