The Dallas Cowboys have signed defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to a three-year extension.
The Cowboys traded for Williams from the New York Jets at the trade deadline in 2025, giving up a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, and DT Mazi Smith. He was the last piece of an overhaul along the defensive line that season: in August, the Cowboys traded edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for DT Kenny Clark and first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027; they used the 2026 first-rounder to select edge rusher Malachi Lawrence out of UCF. They also traded for Packers defensive end Rashan Gary in March.
"It's a big part of all the moving parts that went with our trade last year," Cowboys COO and co-owner Stephen Jones told the team's official website of the extension.
"I think this kind of, at the end of the day, puts a bow on top in terms of knowing that we're going to have Q here for the next five years long term, and have Kenny out there rolling, the deal we made with Rashan Gary and how we used the pick on Lawrence. All these things, you can't say they were all tied to just that, but it's a big deal. And certainly he represents everything that we want in a Dallas Cowboys football player. He's not only a great football player, but he's a man, he's a leader who people in the locker room look to every day. I was just talking to Christian [Parker], he's the best player out on the field."
The Jets drafted Williams third overall out of Alabama in the 2019 NFL Draft. He appeared in just 13 games as a rookie, totaling 28 tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, and a pass defended.
He played just 13 games in 2020 but still had a breakout season with 55 total tackles, 10 TFLs, seven sacks, two forced fumbles, and three pass defenses. He played 15 games in 2021, racking up 53 tackles, seven TFLs, six sacks, and three batted passes.
He won a First-Team All-Pro selection and his first career Pro Bowl selection in 2022 after totaling 55 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and four passes defended.
In 2023, he had 62 total tackles, 11 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, a safety, a forced fumble, a recovery, and an interception. He had something of a down year in 2024, with 37 tackles, eight TFLs, and six sacks. Between the Jets and Cowboys in 2025, he totaled 53 tackles, 10 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, a pass defense, and an interception.