Details have finally been released about Von Miller’s contract with the Dallas Cowboys. The future Hall of Famer is signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal, with a max value of $7.5 million. He should slot right in as an edge rusher in certain defensive packages, and many are excited to see the impact he can make coming off a fairly productive season.
However, one player who may not be too thrilled to see Miller arrive is former second-round pick Sam Williams. The 27-year-old is now entering his fifth season in the NFL and looked sluggish last season after missing all of 2024 with a gruesome knee injury.
With Miller’s arrival, Williams is now just too far down the depth chart, and it could spell the end of his time as a Cowboy.
Sam Williams’ path to relevance gets even tougher
Williams was the 56th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss. In his three years in college, he racked up 134 total tackles, 22.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles.
In his first season with the Cowboys, Williams only had 22 total tackles, but 10 of them were stuffs of running backs in the backfield. He also had 4 sacks, which made many very excited about his potential.
In 2023, Williams struggled to improve his tackling and regressed considerably in stuffing running backs. He still had 4.5 sacks, leaving the door open for his potential as a pass rusher.
But then tragedy struck. Williams suffered a brutal knee injury in July of 2024 at training camp. He tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee and missed the entire season.
Last year, it was great to see Williams back on the field, but he still struggled to make a big impact. He only had one sack and started in just 5 games.
At the end of the day, it’s not really Williams’ fault that he’s getting kicked down the depth chart. The knee injury severely derailed his development, and unfortunately, he’s just another second-round pick gone wrong for Jerry Jones.
On top of Miller’s arrival, Dallas also drafted Malachi Lawrence in the first round, who plays the same position as Williams. They also really like what they have in Donovan Ezeiruaku, who’s going into his second season.
There’s also Rashan Gary, whom the Cowboys traded for. Not to mention James Houston, who had 5.5 sacks last season, is listed third on the depth chart at his position.
It just looks like too tough a path for Williams to get through to become relevant on this defense again. His chance came and went. Unfortunately, injury added to the result. But we see it happen all the time in the NFL.
Add us as a preferred source on Google