Cowboys 'Foundational' Quinnen Williams Contract Reason Revealed By Stephen Jones
Williams becomes the latest Cowboy to have his future sorted as a key piece of Christian Parker's defense put pen to paper.
Video Transcript
Now that the dust has settled on the Cowboys' off-season to some degree, five weeks of nervous time now.
Dust has settled, all is quiet in Frisco, let's make some noise with Fish's newest 53-man Dallas Cowboys roster projection.
I'll do this with your help.
Get in, get on, be good.
Your thoughts.
TJ urges us, please smash the like button.
That tells the good people of YouTube, via algorithms, the kind of Cowboy program you like, and I think it helps pay Marsh's light bill here at Marsh's mansion.
Speaking of which, we are driven by Honda Cars of McKinney and Hendrick BMW of McKinney, and by you, 80,000 Fish Heads in Cowboy Nation.
You're getting ready for training camp.
We report July 28th.
I'll be there, of course.
You are invited to come along with me.
If I don't see you there in person I'll, I'll put you in my knapsack, and we'll bring you to Oxnard that way.
In the meantime, we're putting together a roster.
And yeah, yeah, Schottenheimer and McClay and the Joneses, they put together theirs.
Let's put together ours.
With really the big looming question for me, competition or clarity?
I think there's more clarity than there is competition.
I, I don't know that Schottenheimer would publicly agree with that, but let's watch and see.
Quarterback.
By the time they get to the cut-down date, they will keep two: Dak Prescott and somebody.
The cut-down date, by the way, there's just one nowadays.
They don't do 'em in sequence, or in series of cut-downs.
So it's 5:00 PM Central Time, August 30th.
One big cut gets it down to 53.
My theory is that if you cut Sam Howell, he will not be picked up elsewhere.
If you cut Joe Milton, he might be.
And so therefore, barring Sam Howell just completely demolishing Joe Milton and winning the job outright, I, I think it's, a tough choice for who's gonna be the backup quarterback.
Number two, I think there's a competition there, but I, but I betcha even though Dallas would prefer to play Howell over Milton right now, if a bus driver was needed to go win a game, I betcha that Sam Howell would be the guy they cut, and then they circle back and bring him back.
Running back.
I've had different answers on this over the course of recent months.
Let's try it again.
Javonte Williams, good.
Hunter Luepke, good.
Kind of in a separate category.
Oh, by the way, only three slappies allowed per program, and Myler34, Uncle Fish Premium, says, "I'd like to volunteer to be a slappie."
Fine.
You're in.
Slap away.
Javonte, Luepke, Jaden Blue, I'm championing him, some people think.
No, I'm just telling you what I'm told.
And then as we discussed this morning, the possibility that Phil Moffa would be the guy who would be the number one running back if you ever lost Javonte, that, that Blue is a sidekick, that somebody else has to be the thunder.
So I'm putting Phil Moffa on the roster, and of course, that means Malik Davis doesn't make it.
Jaden Blue's being groomed to be Javonte's caddy, Javonte's caddy, but, but that doesn't mean that Moffa isn't valued in another and different way.
And Moffa, i- i- if he's more suited to be a full-time back than Jaden Blue is, he'll get the chance to prove that with a lot of preseason action.
Wide receiver, I got 'em down for five.
And this is one of those deals where we see it every summer.
This guy looks incredible in the underwear Olympics.
He, he, they just can't stop him, wide receiver.
And, John Machota on Twitter, he's got his highlights of this incredible catch.
John does a great job for The Athletic.
He catches the video of this unbelievable, catch.
Oh, my gosh, this guy's incredible.
Then we get to the preseason games, and we find out that he's KP, can't play.
Can't play in a real game.
And so the first four are easy, and I only got one vacancy after that.
CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Ryan Flournoy, who has earned the wide receiver three job, quote, "the right way".
They're not cutting KaVontae Turpin.
I don't mind discussing the, the bubble concept, but, but they're not cutting him.
And then for now, let's have him keep the rookie.
One of the reasons that certain veterans might not be the fifth guy is that certain veterans don't play preseason games.
I'm sorry, don't play, special teams.
Now, I don't know if Anthony Smith plays special teams either.
But when in doubt, they're gonna wanna keep the kid, right?
As the fifth wide receiver.
So give me Lamb, Pickens, Flournoy, Turpin, and Anthony Smith.
Tight end.
This will be fun/frustrating.
Nobody's rooting against Scoonie.
I mean, I'm talking about you and me.
You, you, you spent a second round draft pick on him.
He seems like a heck of a guy.
Let's succeed.
Let's go.
Problem is, he's no better than the third best tight end.
And athletically, when you count Michael Trigg, he's not even that.
Jake Ferguson, starting tight end.
The second best tight end here, and it's not close, is Rivenspan Ford, sir.
And he had a good mini camp.
His off-season work, to my eye, was good.
Then you keep Scoony because you don't cut second round picks under contract with guaranteed money.
You just don't.
And then my fourth tight end, I'm going to say let's keep Michael Trigg.
Now somebody's going to have to coach him up because this is going to be a whole new level for him.
And this ain't getting kicked out of Ole Miss anymore.
This is the big time.
Michael Cox, please hit the like button.
Yeah, we could use 49 likes.
Would 49 people hit the like button?
That'd be good, wouldn't it?
That'd be good.
The idea of trades that many of you are suggesting.
Remember now, we're talking about cut down date.
Other teams are going to look at the Cowboys roster and say, well, I don't need to trade for that guy.
They don't even like him.
They're going to cut him.
So they'll just wait till player X gets cut.
So Ferguson, Rivenspan Ford, sir.
Scoony makes it.
And I think Michael, right now, I think Michael Trigg makes it.
I think they'd like, and let's see what he can do.
That's a wide receiver skill and a tight end body.
And by the way, he's athletic.
Can he play special teams?
Because I'm not keeping a fourth tight end if he doesn't play special teams.
Offensive line.
I'm keeping 10.
The first seven are easy.
As long as they can play.
Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, he can play.
Cooper Beebe at center.
Tyler Booker, he can play.
Terrence Steele at right tackle.
Man, if that would just work where those players perform at their level of capital used on them, Steele with money, Guyton with the draft pick, what a difference that would make for this football team.
If that group was like legitimately good.
Then TJ Bass, he's not going anywhere.
Nate Thomas, he's not going anywhere.
There's seven.
And then there's going to be some scrambling after that.
So this is competition.
Starting five, clarity.
Backups, competition.
And I don't mean to dismiss Nate Thomas as a guy who's in the running at left tackle, but my prediction is my prediction.
Cornelius, I guess.
Chris Glazier, the injury to Matt Hennessy, that season-ending neck surgery, that opens up the possibility for him.
And Drew Shelton, the draft pick.
There's 10.
Is Shelton going to push Nate Thomas?
Not yet.
Is Nate Thomas going to push Tyler Guyton?
In the end, I say no.
Randy Menich, Fish, the Cowboys need to add a big-name pass rusher.
It's possible.
That would change this a little bit.
Their pursuit of Max Crosby gives you a hint that they recognize the need.
Now, remember, then they got Rashawn Gary.
So they could argue in their own brains, hey, we handled it.
Same thing at linebacker.
Hey, we like Jordan Brooks.
Well, we got D. Winters.
Not the same thing.
Not exactly the same thing.
Let's go to defense.
Edge slash outside linebacker.
Whatever we're calling them now in the 3-4 hybrid.
I got six.
Rashawn Gary, good player.
Donovan Easy, the Cowboys, his Cowboys teammates think the world of him.
That means something.
It's not just scouting department.
Malachi Lawrence, Schottenheimer said good things about him the other day.
First-round pick.
You know, I've said this about the Downs-Malachi deal.
First-round pick.
Now, not that nine's the same as 20, in the 20s.
But first-round pick in the 20s, he should be able to play.
Let's put him down as the third edge outside linebacker.
Sam Williams.
If somebody could just grab him by the shoulders and get him right.
They signed him, of course.
Gave him one more chance.
One year, prove it deal.
L.T.
Overton.
And we're putting him at edge outside linebacker.
I think we're gonna get to training camp and discover, first of all, we'll find out if he can play at all.
We might be able to discover he can play a lot of different positions.
And then give me Charles Snowden.
Now, if you keep Charles Snowden, who you just signed, former Raider, who started half the games there in his last couple years, it doesn't give you greatness at this position.
It does give you enough talent that if you'll notice, James Houston, who can rush the passer, he's getting squeezed here.
Maras Liufau, they're change a position, he's never really jumped out at us, and now they're trying him at a new position.
Right.
So I, I have Houston and Liufau getting squeezed as the Cowboys keep six there.
Defensive tackle, and once again, three four hybrid.
So Quinnen Williams is not just gonna be a defensive tackle.
Kenny Clark's not just gonna be a nose guard.
Otito Onyenwa, he can do more than be a nose guard, and says he can, and will ask to be.
There's three.
And then I have Johnathan Bullard, big squatty body in the middle.
Tricky spot under the new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, 'cause some of these tackles will have to be able to do other things.
But yes, I agree with Steve, Uncle Fish Premium.
Hey, how do I get the circle and the star?
Ask the fellas.
They'll show you how.
This is a good group led by Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, who now get to be here together for the entire year, and they help run that locker room in a good way.
Inside linebacker, and could they use some more depth here?
Eh.
They could use some more at the top.
They I don't know how much more they need at the bottom of the linebacker depth chart, inside linebacker.
They could use some more at the top.
Damarious Overshone, stay healthy and he thinks he's a star, and I think most of us think the same thing.
Dee Winters, if you know what he did in San Francisco, you recognize he can really run and he racks up tackles.
So that's good.
Jashon Barham, Will McClay thinks that athletically he's got traits that match him up with most anybody, like in this draft.
But he, he's gonna be switching back to a new position as an inside linebacker.
There's gonna be a lot to learn there.
The learning curve there probably is gonna be steep.
And then Shemar James.
There's your four.
And yeah, I, I, I say it a couple times a week, call Miami and stay on top of the Jordan Brooks situation and s- and see what it is they want.
Lorenzo, "If they hit on Barham, they will be cooking with bacon."
Yeah, or cooking with gas.
Correct.
In- indeed, you get it right on Caleb Downs, which they will, you get it right on Malachi, cross your fingers, and somehow Jashon Barham becomes a, a, a starter plus, yeah, we'll be looking back at this draft and saying good things.
Who's the green dot?
Asks TJ.
Overshown says it's him.
He says, and I think he might have let the cat out of the bag, 'cause I don't know that Christian Parker wanted this announced, but he said Christian Parker told him, "You're my guy."
Dee Winters, m- more veteran skins on the wall.
I, I wouldn't give up on that concept.
And I, I, I mean, I just think someday Caleb Downs is gonna run everything around here.
Danny B., "What about Bobby Wagner?"
Yeah, again, not in the same class as Brooks anymore, and maybe the Cowboys would say the difference between Wagner now and Dee Winters is not a gigantic gap.
But I, I, I love the idea of Bobby Wagner.
I, I know a bunch of people that know him that just, besides the football thing, j- just you talk about a character guy, i- if, if the Cowboys are trying to build that brotherhood in there, that guy does stuff like that, in addition to being a, a Hall of Famer a few years down the line.
Cornerback.
DaRon Bland, let's get that foot right.
Javon Rebel, who says, "Someday I could be the best cornerback in the NFL."
Okay.
Kobe Durant, who by his performance this summer is saying, "Maybe, but I'm, I might be better than you."
If Bland and Rebel are healthy, and Rebel is demonstrating that he is, Bland not yet, Bland training camp, that's, that's an okay threesome.
Better than it was last year.
Way better.
Kaylin Carson has had a good off-season.
So seat belt, put him in there.
Devin Moore, the rookie, and then you're gonna keep six.
There, there's, there's all kinds of room for one more guy.
I'm gonna go with Josh Butler just because I watched him play well the other day.
That's all.
'Cause the difference between him and Reddy Stewart, I don't know.
Here comes, the new guy, Amir Speed, 6'3", 215, plays special teams, run to 4.3, 540.
So there could be a wild card for that, that fifth and sixth cornerback spot.
But the Cowboys, it, it feels way better than it does a year ago.
Tony M., "Greetings from Lisbon, Portugal.
I'm late for Fish for dinner."
Well, enjoy some Portuguese whatnot on me.
Safety Caleb Downs, difference maker.
Jalen Thompson, difference maker.
Malik Hooker, good player.
That's stout.
PJ Locke, leadership guy, teacher's pet, knows the system, has been a part-time starter.
And then I have Marquise Bell, who of course had his legal entanglements this offseason.
I don't think Marquise Bell can do much as a defensive back.
Every time I see it, it doesn't work.
But I do think he can do things as a special teams player.
So there's my five safeties.
And again, this may be the group when you're comparing the safety room 2026 to the safety room 2025.
This may be the group that, that feels completely different in terms of FBIQ, in terms of organization, in terms of understanding their job, and then in terms of their physical ability to go dominate you.
The Sport 78, is Downs-Thompson as a safety duel the best around here since Roy and Woody?
Might have to go back and measure that one.
You know, the Cowboys have never super valued safety.
They've all- they've changed gears here.
And so it's not a, a, a, a, a long, long list of great Cowboy safeties in the, in the Jimmy-Jerry era.
Not talking now about, Cliff and Charlie.
Once upon a time, Darren Woodson rotating with Thomas Everett and James Washington, that was pretty, that was pretty stout.
That, that's a good question.
Let's do a little research on that one.
But on paper, Caleb Downs, Jalen Thompson, and Malik, that's special.
Kenneth Easley, $5 pitch in, speaking of safeties.
Sidebar Fish, if Earl Thomas would have come here, would his career have ended differently?
The, the way it went bad in Baltimore, and I'm gonna be careful how we say this, he quit showing up for practice.
He would, he would leave, he would leave the building and not go to practice, and he'd go down the street.
During practice, allegedly, to a place he shouldn't have been.
So if you could, if you could do that in Baltimore, if you could make that mistake in Baltimore, I guess you could make it here.
It could be argued that he would have been home.
He would have been surrounded by the, the comforts of being in a home state.
I don't know.
But, he, he hit Something went very, very wrong inside Earl Thomas to the point where his behavior went that way, and I don't know that being in a different state than Maryland would have saved him there.
Finally, specialists.
Brandon Aubrey is an All-Pro.
Ryan Anger, been in the Pro Bowl.
Trent Seage, awfully good.
And despite these stellar names, Cowboys special teams group, as we noted the other day, sixth worst in the NFL last year.
Ugh.
How's that possible?
You got a big shot coordinator.
Well, you had a big shot coordinator before.
And you have the best kicker in the world, a great punter, a lot-- all the special teams, but oh, and, and Kevante.
That shouldn't happen.
I don't think it, I don't think it will happen this it, it Oh, by the way, it's weird, C.J.
Goodwin not in the mix.
That's, that's a s- that's the first time I've said that in a while.
Usually it's C.J.
Goodwin will get cut and then brought back.
Not in the mix this time around.
You add it all up, and you need the offensive line, you need those guys, the, the two tackles to live up to their billing, and y- the place where you think you have, that we all thought four months ago that you had holes, edge rusher and linebacker.
You need to have plugged those holes.
And if those, one on offense, one on defense, if those things come true, I'm, I, I don't, you know, I don't know about, I'm talking about Super Bowl and But seven and nine, seven, nine, and one will be way in the rear view mirror.
And the bottom line here, if, if you go back and review what we've just talked about, and, and coaches love competition, but maybe clarity's good too, because I think, as we just demonstrated, the 2026 Dallas Cowboys have a lot more talent than they had last year, and they have, in a good way, roster clarity.
Fish out.
