The Denver Broncos and Javonte Williams parted ways this offseason after Williams put together an underwhelming campaign for the orange and blue in 2024. He was electric when he first got to the Mile High City, but a catastrophic knee injury set his career back and took away most of the juice he had as a rookie.
It seemed like Williams’ time in Denver came to an end with no issues, as his contract was not renewed after the 2024 season and he wound up with the Dallas Cowboys on a one-year deal.
However, it doesn’t seem like the 25-year-old running back feels the same way. In the Cowboys’ final preseason game over the weekend, he was asked about the difference in culture between Dallas and his previous stops (Denver and North Carolina in college are the only places he’s been), and made a puzzling comment.
“I’d say this is much more team friendly. I feel like everyone really gets along. It’s more genuine. Players actually hang out with each other off the field. I like it. It’s a family atmosphere,” Williams said on the Cowboys’ broadcast.
It’s no secret that Sean Payton runs a tight ship in Denver, but this quote insinuates that he was not having fun in Denver. Williams had four different head coaches in four years in Denver (Vic Fangio, Nathaniel Hackett, interim Jerry Rosburg, Payton), so it was probably hard for him to get any sort of culture established, but he had two years to get comfortable with Payton’s regime. Payton is certainly a polarizing character, so Williams must not have been a fan.
Anyone who has paid attention to the NFL landscape this month has also seen that the Cowboys haven’t exactly had the greatest culture in their building with the contract turmoil surrounding star edge rusher Micah Parsons and owner Jerry Jones. While Parsons has been sitting around waiting for a fair deal to come his way, Jones has gone on national TV and continued to attack his best player for reasons unknown.
Doesn’t seem like he’s instilling a great culture over there. It also doesn’t make sense because Payton and the Broncos are talking about Super Bowl contention while the Cowboys are talking about trying to make the playoffs. Two different levels.