Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrated Quinnen Williams' contract.
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Certainly, the way things have shaped up in recent days and weeks, it looked like it was only a matter of time before the Dallas Cowboys made their move to get Quinnen Williams locked up on a new contract. And, after Williams himself, no one appreciates that more than quarterback Dak Prescott.
The team made a big investment–sending a first-round pick and a second-round pick as well as Mazi Smith–to acquire him form the Jets at last year’s NFL trade deadline, and of all the reasons there are to be excited about the reshaping of Dallas’s defense, the presence of Williams has to be near the top of the list.
In the end, the Cowboys made a top-of-the-market move to get Williams signed to a three-year, $106 million deal. With an AAV of $35.3 million, Williams is just ahead of Jeffery Simmons for the second-biggest interior line contract in the league, according to Over the Cap. Jalen Carter of the Eagles (at $38 million) has the biggest deal.
Carter also has the most guaranteed money, at $108 million, while Williams has $101 million guaranteed. Simmons is at $100 million.
Dak Prescott Sees a Lot of Quinnen Williams in Practice
Prescott has some experience with just how good Williams is–he faces him daily in practice and watches him work against the interior of the offensive line, which is one of the strengths of the offense.
Said Prescott, via Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys website: “Super blessed, super thankful. One of the best I’ve been around. Obviously, between the lines when you watch on the field, just what he’s able to do. We’re always talking about the halo rule, and the guy just is always in the halo, and I don’t think he can help it. He just gets there, and he gets there so fast. That’s what he knows is getting to the quarterback.
“It makes practice fun, but at the same time, he’s exactly the leader that you want. Exactly the leader that when he speaks, it’s heard, but he doesn’t have to say anything and he’s leading every moment that he steps into the building by the way that he carries himself and just being a pro’s pro.”
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Dak Prescott, Quinnen Williams Rank as Cowboys Emotional Leader
Williams has also been tabbed as a critical part of the defense new coordinator Christian Parker is bringing to the Cowboys, as Parker expects interior pressure from Kenny Clark and Williams to be a critical function of the unit.
While Prescott does experience the advantages Williams gives the Cowboys in terms of Xs and Os, he also connects with Williams as an emotional leader. Prescott has been determined to push Super Bowl aspirations on this group this summer–and Williams is right there with him.
Prescott told Jori Epstein of Yahoo: “I don’t think Q’s broken down the team or spoke to the team without saying [that], whether it be ‘Super Bowl’ or whether it be ‘championship.’ He said the other day: ‘If you’re not about that, get the (expletive) out of the huddle.'”
Cowboys ‘Thrilled About Him’
And almost as happy for Williams as Prescott was coach Brian Schottenheimer who, let’s be honest, is happy just about all the time.
Schottenheimer told reporters: “I think we should probably keep that contract. I think that was a good contract for us. Thrilled about him. What he’s brought to this team from a leadership standpoint can’t be talked about enough. He wanted to be here, it was all part of the grand scheme. We had the big trade to try to figure out something like that. Couldn’t be happy enough for him.”
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Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including "Fun City," "Before Wrigley became Wrigley," and "Facing Michael Jordan." More about Sean Deveney
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