Jerry Jones gets a lot of heat for selling hope amid adversity. He tried with all of his might to spread optimism after the Dallas Cowboys' feeble loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night. While his words fell on deaf ears, his actions before Tuesday's deadline have completely flipped the script.
In a true deadline stunner, the Cowboys have traded for New York Jets star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. It's a move that changes the entire complexion of Dallas' future, even if it ultimately doesn't propel them to a playoff berth this season.
The Cowboys gave up a lot to acquire Williams. Per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas will send its 2027 first-round pick and 2026 second-round pick to New York, in addition to out-of-favor former first-round pick Mazi Smith, who was rumored to be on the trade block.
Full details of Quinnen Williams trade prove Cowboys had to do it
Nobody's saying that it isn't a steep price to pay. But it's impressive that the Cowboys didn't have to give up two first-round picks for Williams after Jets teammate Sauce Gardner was traded to the Colts no more than an hour earlier for two firsts and a young receiver in Adonai Mitchell.
A three-time Pro Bowler and a former first-team All-Pro, Williams is a better player than Gardner, and he's only 27 years old. Not to mention, he's under contract for three more years and will have palatable cap hits of $21.75 million and $25.5 million in 2026 and '27, respectively. That gives Dallas two more years of security with the flexibility to open extension talks before the 2027 season.
Is this trade an attention grab? Without a doubt, but this one actually has merit behind it. Unlike the decision to trade away Micah Parsons, or trade for Jonathan Mingo, who was a healthy scratch on Monday night, before last year's trade deadline. You can lump the trades for former first-round picks Kenneth Murray and Kaiir Elam right into that bucket as well.
The Williams trade is a legitimate attempt to make the football team better. The Cowboys' defense has a long way to go before it's fixed, but adding Williams is a step in the right direction before they have two first-round picks to play with in the 2026 draft and a boatload of cap space to boot.