Cowboys Reshape RB Room + Sam Howell Named Backup QB

The dominant story out of Dallas on Tuesday is a two-part roster shuffle that fantasy managers in Cowboys-heavy leagues need to act on immediately. The Cowboys waived QB Joe Milton III to create the roster space necessary to claim RB Emari Demercado off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs, while simultaneously naming Sam Howell as the team's official backup quarterback. For fantasy purposes, the QB move is largely noise — Howell's role is clipboard duty behind the starter. The backfield move is anything but. Demercado enters a Cowboys RB room that had already shed second-year backs Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, leaving Javonte Williams and Malik Davis as the top two options. Demercado profiles as the No. 3 back, and while Davis still holds the edge in that pecking order, Demercado's track record as a receiver — 50 catches over three seasons with the Cardinals — gives him a defined role in the passing game.

The broader Green Bay subplot is also worth monitoring for any manager still holding Josh Jacobs. The NFL placed Jacobs on the commissioner exempt list after he was charged with battery and criminal damage to property — both misdemeanors — leaving him out indefinitely. ESPN's final summer mock draft reflected that uncertainty in real time, with Jacobs sliding down boards and MarShawn Lloyd surfacing as a Round 6 value pick. Fantasy analysts are actively reassessing Packers RB depth, and Lloyd's ADP is likely to keep moving in the days ahead.

The connecting thread across these stories is roster volatility in the final hours of roster-setting season. The Cowboys overhauled their backfield depth in a single day. Green Bay's lead back is in legal limbo. In both cases, waiver wire activity will follow — and the managers who react fastest stand to gain the most before Week 1.

Tomorrow, watch for any clarity on Josh Jacobs' timeline and whether the Packers make a corresponding roster move to shore up their backfield. Also worth tracking: whether Emari Demercado's role in Dallas gets further defined by beat reporters at practice, and whether Odell Beckham Jr. officially secures a spot on the Giants' 53-man roster.