The Dallas Cowboys' season didn’t get off to the best start when they dropped the 2025 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Many things went wrong for the Cowboys in Philadelphia last Thursday night, including CeeDee Lamb’s sudden case of the drops. But owner/general manager Jerry Jones believed that his team was one impact player on defense away from flipping the script on the 24-20 defeat.
Jones’ comments were sure to draw an incredulous laugh from most Cowboys fans after trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers a week earlier; however, his words came with some action. NFL insider Josina Anderson reports the team is hosting star Jadeveon Clowney for a visit on Wednesday morning.
The Cowboys wouldn’t bring in a former No. 1 overall pick if someone hadn’t underperformed and it could spell disaster for new defensive starter Sam Williams.
Sam Williams Should Be Looking Over His Shoulder After Jadeveon Clowney Visits Cowboys
Williams was one of the biggest winners of the Parsons trade as it put him directly into the starting lineup. The move was a bold one as Williams was coming off a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee during last year’s training camp, but the former second-round pick saw some success in a situational role before the injury with 8.5 sacks in his first two seasons.
Whether it was rust from the missed time or just a bad night in Philadelphia, Williams’s first career start didn’t go well. Pro Football Focus credited Williams with five pressures on 25 pass-rushing snaps and three run stops on 13 snaps against the run. But his overall performance left a lot to be desired, with a 52.0 grade and a missed tackle on five attempts.
The pressure numbers suggest PFF may have been harsh on Williams’s season debut, but the Cowboys clearly agree with their assessment. Clowney would provide a massive upgrade with 58 sacks over his 11-year career, and he was still effective in his age-31 season, logging 5.5 sacks with a 70.8 overall grade with 44 pressures on 346 pass-rushing snaps with the Carolina Panthers last season.
Clowney can be a little inconsistent, as similar campaigns with the Tennessee Titans (2020) and Cleveland Browns (2022) accounted for just two sacks over 20 games. He also has the opportunity to finish plays, which is something Dallas had trouble with after pressuring Jalen Hurts on 41.2% of his dropbacks but managing just one sack on Thursday night.
Perhaps this is the reason why Jones clamored for one more playmaker, and Clowney would come at a significantly cheaper cost than the $47 million per season the Packers gave Parsons. With the ability to still be a game-wrecker, Clowney could be a solid addition to the Cowboys and one that makes Williams fumble his starting opportunity after just one game.