With Sam Williams lost for the season thanks to a torn ACL and MCL, the Cowboys are doing their due diligence on potential replacements. According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, the team has been “reviewing the tape” on available veteran defensive ends. However, Moore cautions that the team hasn’t lined up any visits/workouts.
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While Williams was once buried in the positional pecking order, the Cowboys were going to lean on their depth following the losses of Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler this offseason. Dallas is fortunate that they still have plenty of talent on the edge; Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence will continue to lead the depth chart, and the organization also used a second-round pick on Western Michigan’s Marshawn Kneeland.
Beyond that trio, the options are less than inspiring for new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. 2023 fourth-round pick Viliami Fehoko Jr. is the team’s most significant recent draft investment of the bunch, but any of the back-of-the-depth-chart options (including key special teamer Chauncey Golston, 2023 UDFAs Durrell Johnson and Tyrus Wheat, and 2024 UDFA Byron Vaughns) could step into any leftover snaps. There’s a good chance the Cowboys will be patient and evaluate this grouping before pouncing on any free agent options.
Plus, the free agent market has been pretty much picked through. Yannick Ngakoue likely represents the best option at the position, with the likes of Carl Lawson, Markus Golden, and Shaq Lawson also sitting unsigned. The Cowboys will also have more options at their disposal as rival squads trim down their rosters, so there probably isn’t any urgency to find a Williams replacement right now. Stephen Jones basically acknowledged as much when discussing the position with Moore.
“We’ll just see,” Jones said. “It depends on the guy. Everybody is pouring over the tape and seeing if there is anything. But we’re very pleased with what Kneeland has done so far.
“If the right guy is there, we’ll pull the trigger. If not, we’ll kind of keep playing along, see how our guys do and go from there.”
As for Williams, Moore notes that the defender will undergo surgery in August to repair his torn ACL and partially torn MCL. The earlier we’ll see Williams on the field will likely be a month or two into the 2025 campaign.