INGLEWOOD, Calif. — A little more than 24 hours ago, Malik Davis was sitting at home and waiting for another chance to prove himself in the NFL. As fate would have it, when his phone rang on Thursday evening, it was the very same Dallas Cowboys on the other line that signed him as an undrafted rookie in 2022.
And, less than one full day after arriving to practice in Oxnard, Davis was being sent onto the field in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason opener — devouring his opportunities at every turn.
“It’s been great,” Davis said of his whirlwind weekend. “I was called and given an opportunity, and I went out there and made the best of the opportunity I got. … It goes to the trust they have in me and the trust I have in them. They trust in me to go out there and show that I can pick up the playbook on short notice and apply it, and I showed myself that I’m capable of doing that.”
In limited minutes and with only seven handoffs, Davis racked up 63 yards on nine yards per carry with a 16-yard run that added to his total impact, leaving SoFi Stadium as the team’s leading rusher on the evening; and by a large margin.
“It’s a great feeling when you’re able to go out there and put on a great performance for your teammates and coaches and, most of all, proving to myself that I belong here.”
A certain sense of satisfaction comes over him in seeing what he was able to do on such short notice, and for a team that opted to give him another chance following his release from the club in the spring.
“I was welcomed [back] with open arms,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of relationships with a lot of players and coaches here. They embraced me and it was a great feeling to be back out. It’s a little of … a lot of things I was familiar with, but [head coach Brian Schottenheimer] added in a few new terms and I was able to pick up those things on the fly.”
Schottenheimer, needless to say, was extremely impressed — though not surprised.
“I can’t say enough,” he said of Davis. “… It was great to see him [on Friday]. I ran right over and gave him a big hug. His run skills are incredible. And it speaks to the young man that he’s in incredible shape as he waited, and he’s had a couple tryouts [elsewhere], and they didn’t sign him so we were able to get him back.
“Give Malik his due, he had a hell of a day.”
Davis now heads into a full practice week that also involves travel back to Dallas to take on the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium in seven days, and that’s the only way he’s fine with going back to North Texas: with a Cowboys’ uniform and a place in the locker room and on the roster.
“I just know I don’t wanna go back home [as a free agent,” he said. “So when I got my opportunity, I have to make the best of it.”