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11/04 13:59 CST Cowboys make major move for beleaguered defense in trade for
Quinnen Williams, AP sources say
Cowboys make major move for beleaguered defense in trade for Quinnen Williams,
AP sources say
By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Pro Football Writer
FRISCO, Texas (AP) --- The Dallas Cowboys traded for star defensive tackle
Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets in a major move to try to improve one of
the NFL's worst defenses, two people with knowledge of the agreement said
Tuesday.
The deal for Williams came about two hours before the trading deadline,
following a lower-profile addition in linebacker Logan Wilson from the
Cincinnati Bengals, who was acquired for a seventh-round pick in the upcoming
draft.
The Cowboys are giving New York a 2027 first-round draft pick, a 2026
second-rounder and underperforming defensive tackle Mazi Smith, according to
one of the people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity
because the deal hadn't been announced.
The Jets will get the better of Dallas' 2027 first-rounders. The Cowboys got
two first-round choices in another blockbuster, the trade that sent star pass
rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers a week before the season.
The Cowboys were talking to the Jets about Williams when they were trying to
find a resolution to the contract stalemate with Parsons during training camp.
Dallas got the Packers' first-round picks in the next two drafts along with
defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
The trade gives Dallas the potential for one of the best interior defensive
lines in the league in Williams and Clark, who has been good for the Cowboys
but hasn't been able to reverse the club's struggles in recent years to stop
the run.
It remains to be seen how the addition of Williams will help the edge rushers
who struggled badly early in the season without Parsons. The pressure has been
better recently for the Cowboys (3-5-1), but mostly because of an increase in
blitzing.
Williams was No. 3 overall pick of the Jets in 2019 out of Alabama and has
steadily developed into one of the NFL's top interior defensive linemen.
An All-Pro in 2022 and a three-time Pro Bowl selection, Williams has 40 sacks
and routinely drew double teams from opposing offensive lines that tried to
neutralize him --- but it also often helped open things up for other defenders.
Williams signed a four-year, $96 million contract extension with the Jets,
including $66 million guaranteed, in July 2023.
He and his older brother Quincy, a linebacker who was an All-Pro in 2023, had
been teammates with the Jets since 2021.
With the Jets off to a rough start to the season, Williams said the defense ---
expected to be a strength --- was largely to blame.
"When you are probably the worst defense in the league," Williams said a few
weeks ago, "no matter where you're at, you've got to fix things if you want to
win football games."
Smith has been a disappointment in three seasons since the Cowboys drafted him
26th overall in the first round. He has alternated between playing and being a
healthy scratch most of this season. He was inactive for the 27-17 loss to
Arizona on Monday night.
Wilson had requested a trade after his playing time decreased for the Bengals,
who have the league's worst defense. The Dallas defense is the NFL's second
worst.
"Some guys have the ability to see a certain key and, at the same time, take a
step up in the hole," Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on his
radio show on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "He knows how to get in the gaps right
now. ... For what we need right now, he can come in immediately and help us at
linebacker."
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AP Pro Football Writers Rob Maaddi and Dennis Waszak Jr. contributed.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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