The Dallas Cowboys have added another piece to their running back room, claiming Emari Demercado off waivers after the Kansas City Chiefs released him as part of their final roster cuts.
Demercado, 27, enters Dallas with three seasons of NFL experience after latching on with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent back in 2023. The offensive line coach during his first two seasons in the desert was Klayton Adams — Dallas' current offensive coordinator.
TheCalifornia native is also familiar with the area as he played his college ball at TCUafter beginning his career at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.
Arizona chose not to tender him this past offseason which allowed him to sign a one-year deal with the Chiefs.
Cowboys claimed RB Emari Demercado
off waivers from the Chiefs.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2026
For his career, Demercado has rushed 126 times for 819 yards averaging an impressive 6.5 yards per carry. He also contributed 50 receptions for 324 yards, showing that he can be used as a receiving option when needed.
According to his PFF statistics, Demercado has special teams experience playing in 184 transitional snaps over three season which averages out to 61.3 plays a season.
Demercado's ability as a pass protector may ultimately be what makes him particularly interesting for the Cowboys. During his brief stint with Kansas City, he described pass protection as his niche in the NFL, emphasizing the importance of being able to protect the quarterback.
If his name sounds familiar, it might be because of an unfortunate series of events that transpired in October of last season.
During a Week 5 contest against the Tennessee Titans, Demercado broke free for an apparent 72-yard TD run but replay review showed that he dropped the ball just before he crossed the goal line, rolling back into what eventually was ruled a touchback.
Cardinals RB Emari Demercado with a 72-yard touchdown run, but he dropped the ball before the goal line... pic.twitter.com/JPMm726fDO
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) October 5, 2025
As he trotted back to the sidelines, then-Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was seen yelling at the young back before taking a swipe at him making contact with his arm. The blunder sparked a massive fourth-quarter comeback by the Titans who went on to win 22-21 after being down 21-6 with less than 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
After being in contact with the NFL Players Union, the league declined to take action and allowed the team to impose their own discipline, fining Gannon $100K for the incident which promoted an apology.
“I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly,” the third-year head coach said. “So in the team meeting I addressed it, I apologized to Emari, apologized to the team. I just told them I let the moment of what happened get the better of me.” - Jonathan Gannon Arizona Head Coach
Demercado now gets a shot at redemption with "America's Team", who face both the Cardinals and Green Bay this season. Former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, who Dallas interviewed this offseason, is now the Packers defensive coordinator.
Dallas has continued reshaping their roster following cutdown day, and Demercado represents the latest addition as the team looks for depth and competition heading into the regular season. His production and pass-blocking experience could make him an intriguing addition to the Cowboys backfield.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Who is Emari Demercado? Getting to know the Cowboys new running back
