It's been a busy week for Israel Abanikanda, but he ends up right back where he started just six days prior.
The Cowboys announced Abanikanda's re-signing to their practice squad on Thursday.
The 2023 fifth-round running back out of Pitt initially looked to be the beneficiary of the season-ending hip injury to Malik Davis, getting signed from the Cowboys' practice squad to the 53-man roster on Sept. 12, just a day before the team's season-opening contest with the New York Giants. But when gametime rolled around, the 23-year-old found himself on the inactives list, with Javonte Williams, Emari Demercado, and fullback Hunter Luepke handling the backfield rushing duties for Dallas in the 28-20 loss.
On Tuesday, news broke that the Cowboys had signed
Tyler Goodson from Atlanta's practice squad, seemingly adding competition for Abanikanda at the RB3 spot. But later that day, it was revealed that Abanikanda had been waived in order to make room for Goodson on the active roster.
Abanikanda sat on the waiver wire for the requisite 24 hours with no claims, making him a free agent available to sign with any team. On Thursday, it was the Cowboys who came calling, signing Abanikanda back to the practice squad.
The entirety of Abanikanda's NFL stats came in 2023, while with the Jets. He tallied 70 rushing yards on 22 carries and added 43 receiving yards on seven catches while also playing on special teams. The New York native also spent time with the 49ers and Packers before joining the Cowboys practice squad late in the 2025 season.
Now he's right back in the No. 25 jersey he left behind just days ago.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys bring waived RB back to practice squad
