In purely financial terms, the 2024 season cost Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams about $18 million and some change.
Williams, who spent the first 4 seasons of his career with the Denver Broncos, was projected to receive somewhere in the range of a 3-year, $21 million contract when he entered free agency following the season.
After Williams underperformed for a second consecutive season in Denver he found himself not only not getting the big money deal he hoped for but unwanted with the Broncos after head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton made it clear they wanted to rebuild the position from the ground up.
That meant no more Williams, who eventually landed a 1-year, $3 million “prove it” contract with the Cowboys, where he wasn’t even guaranteed a spot on the 53-man roster.
Now, Williams looks like he might eventually get that $18 million back — and then some — after he’s looked like one of the NFL’s best running backs through the first 5 games.
In a 37-22 win over the New York Jets in Week 5, Williams ran for a career high 135 yard on just 16 carries to go with 2 touchdowns — 1 rushing and 1 receiving. He leads the Cowboys with 447 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns and is averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
Against the Jets, Williams had over 100 rushing yards in the first half.
“Javonte Williams has absolutely re-resurrected his career in Dallas,” Fox Sports analyst and 3-time Super Bowl champion tight end Rob Gronkowski said on October 5. “Over 100 yards in the first half kind of says it all.”
Williams Completely Written Off in Denver
Williams was a second round pick (No. 54 overall) by the Broncos in the 2021 NFL draft after rushing for over 1,100 yards and earning All-American honors for the University of North Carolina in 2020.
His career took off like a rocket with the Broncos when he earned All-Rookie honors in 2021 after he racked up 1,219 yards of total offense and 7 touchdowns, including 903 rushing yards. In 2022, a devastating knee injury put Williams’ career in jeopardy after he tore his ACL, LCL and PCL in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
In the 2 seasons after his injury, Williams was almost completely ineffective. He led the Broncos with 774 rushing yards in 2023 and 513 rushing yards in 2024 but averaged just 3.65 yards per carry in that stretch.
Williams Almost Lost RB1 Job in Dallas
After Williams signed with the Cowboys, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox put him high on his list of free agents who’s jobs “aren’t safe” in 2025.
“For Williams to hang onto any semblance of a true RB1 role, he may have to showcase the same consistency and explosiveness he showed as a rookie in 2021.” Knox wrote on July 24. “ … If he isn’t closer to his pre-injury form in training camp, he may end up relegated to more of a complementary role.”
Williams only won the starting job for the Cowboys outright after rookie and 2025 fifth round pick Jaydon Blue started to earn first team reps but suffered a second ankle injury in the preseason and missed the first 4 games of the regular season.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post ‘Resurrected’ Cowboys RB Javonte Williams Makes History in Win appeared first on Heavy Sports.