Dallas is ditching rookie Jaydon Blue for veteran Emari Demercado. Now, their NFC East rivals have snatched up the explosive back for a revenge tour.
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys this weekend dumped their "Thunder and Lightning'' concept - well, at least the "Lightning'' part - with the release of former University of Texas running back Jaydon Blue.
But one team's trash is another team's treasure.
So while the Javonte Williams-led running back room added a new body in former Arizona Cardinals standout Emari Demercado, Blue was let go ...
Only to be signed on Monday by Dallas' arch-rival the Philadelphia Eagles.
The speedster Blue, who not long ago was viewed by Dallas as a top-notch complementary back behind Williams, is joining the Eagles practice squad.
Blue, a 2025 fifth-round pick, was very frank in his media conversations about his own "maturity'' as he spent much of his rookie year in the Cowboys doghouse.
But a bad sign was put on display here at The Star on Monday when coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked about the possibility of Blue being called back to Dallas' practice squad.
His lukewarm answer was basically a "no.''
Blue, who ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.38 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine, still has a great deal of untapped potential ... and of course, while the Cowboys wish him no ill, they certainly would prefer that he doesn't discover himself while in an Eagles uniform, where Saquon Barkley is the backfield's superstar.
Meanwhile, the claiming of the 5-11, 215-pound Demercado - a TCU product - adds to the offense a veteran who helps on special teams, runs with power, can pass-protect ... and during his three years in Arizona as a part-timer averaged an eye-popping 6.5 yards per carry.
Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams spent Demercado's first two NFL seasons as Arizona's offensive line coach, giving Dallas someone with first-hand knowledge of what its newest running back can provide.
And Demercado produced while Adams was there.
He averaged 4.9 yards per carry as an undrafted rookie in 2023 before exploding for 9.3 yards per attempt in 2024. Arizona's rushing attack averaged 141.6 yards per game and 5.02 yards per carry across Adams' two seasons while producing a league-best 15.4% rate of runs gaining at least 10 yards.
Demercado maintained that efficiency after Adams left, averaging another 7.1 yards per carry last season.
Across three seasons with the Cardinals, he rushed 126 times for 819 yards and three touchdowns.
Demercado now joins a room with Malik Davis as the No. 2 back and Hunter Luepke as a do-it-all fullback. Additionally, Israel Abanikanda was called back to the Cowboys' practice squad. (And interestingly, second-year back Phil Mafah, like Blue, was not.)
Of course, if Emari Demercado is such a find, why did the Kansas City Chiefs just cut him?
Because ... one team's trash is another team's treasure.
