The Dallas Cowboys have enjoyed having one of the best offenses in the NFL, but their defense has been a different story altogether. While the Cowboys rank toward the top of the league in multiple offensive categories, the defense ranks toward the bottom, which has understandably put the heat on Matt Eberflus and several of the players on the defensive side of the ball.
If you believe Brian Schottenheimer, it has been the players who have been the bigger problem than the scheme, and nobody would blame them if they pointed the finger at Sam Williams as part of their reasoning for that stance. One of the most underperforming players on the Cowboys defense, Williams spotted an X post by Bob Sturm of 96.7 The Ticket that showed him getting washed out by Carolina Panthers receiver Xavier Legette on a play in Sunday’s loss.
Williams’s response of a laughing emoji showed just how seriously he was taking the play and may signal that his time in Dallas needs to come to an end.
Sam Williams May Have Punched His Ticket Out of Dallas with One Emoji
A second-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2022 draft, Williams has gone belly up in his fourth year with the franchise. While Williams showed some promise with 4.5 sacks and 24 quarterback pressures in his second season in Dallas, a torn ACL wiped out his entire 2024 campaign. Still, Williams had a big opportunity when Micah Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers, and he responded by fumbling it away.
According to Pro Football Focus, Williams has been productive as a pass-rusher with 15 pressures on 131 pass-rushing snaps. But he’s been a disaster in defending the run with a 44.3 grade, even though he’s second on the team with a 9% stop rate and first among edge rushers with four penalties.
Entering the final year of his contract with the Cowboys, Williams has already cost himself a ton of money. But he may also be sick of Dallas in general. The Cowboys have had three defensive coordinators over the past three seasons. With Mike Zimmer’s defense struggling last year, and Eberflus pointing the finger, Williams may be mailing it in and hoping to land in a better situation when he’s a free agent this coming offseason.
That approach won’t help the current Cowboys team at all, which is struggling to remain in contention in the NFC. However, it remains a problem the team is facing as they look to keep it together ahead of Sunday’s divisional clash against the Washington Commanders.