The shot from ESPN’s cameras of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said it all following a sack by defensive tackle Quinnen Williams in a Week 11 Monday Night Football win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
After Williams took down Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, Jones had a huge smile plastered across his face. It was a look of joy rarely seen through the first 2-plus months of a rollercoaster regular season for the Cowboys.
After a 33-16 win over the Raiders improved the Cowboys to 4-5-1 overall, the buzz was that a blockbuster trade for Williams at the NFL trade deadline was already paying off and, in turn, the playoff hopes for the NFL’s most valuable franchise were very much still alive.
“Cowboys hit the Jackpot with Quinnen Williams and the trade in Game 1,” Blogging the Boys’ Brandon Loree wrote on his official X account on November 17. “4 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, 5 quarterback hits Fitting given it happened in Las Vegas.”
Williams, a 3-time Pro Bowler, was part of a mass influx of defensive talent who took the field for the Cowboys against the Raiders along with inside linebacker Logan Wilson, who came over in a trade from the Cincinnati Bengals, along with inside linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and rookie cornerback Shavon Revel.
Cowboys Made Blockbuster Trade for Williams
The Jets sent Williams to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second round pick, 2027 first round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith, a 2023 first round pick.
“Blockbuster: The Cowboys are trading for Jets Pro Bowl DT Quinnen Williams, sending a first-round pick and more to NYJ, per The Insiders,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account. “New home for one of the NFL’s best to team that values interior DLs, as NYJ builds for the future.”
The trade for Williams, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, sent shockwaves around the NFL and represents a significant investment in the Jets’ future. The 6-foot-303-pound Williams signed a 4-year, $96 million contract extension in July 2023 that would keep him in Dallas through the 2027 season.
It was the second blockbuster trade of the day for the Cowboys, who also made a deal for Wilson on the same day.
Cowboys Have Potent 1-2 Punch on Interior DL
The deal for Williams gives the Cowboys arguably the NFL’s best 1-2 punch on the interior defensive line behind just the Philadelphia Eagles duo of Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.
The Cowboys already have Pro Bowler Kenny Clark at one of the defensive tackle spots, with Clark part of the preseason trade that sent edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for 2 first round draft picks.
Clark also had a half sack against the Raiders.
“In his Cowboys debut, Quinnen Williams forced 5 pressures in the first half, tied for the most in any half by a Cowboys defensive tackle since at least 2018,” Next Gen Stats wrote on its official X account. “Williams and Osa Odighizuwa combined for 11 pressures on the night.”
“Quinnen Williams probably just had the best game by a Cowboys DT in the last 20 years,” Locked on Cowboys’ Marcus Mosher wrote on his official X account. “I know that sounds like hyperbole and I understand how bad that OL is … but he was dominant.”
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