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Cowboys DE fighting for a roster spot seemingly pulled from opening practice after making a mistake that sounds just like him

Originally posted on A to Z Sports
By Mauricio Rodriguez | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 11:17 PM ET

Defensive end is going to be one of the most exciting battles to watch throughout Dallas Cowboys training camp. One of the biggest reasons why is Sam Williams, who is somewhat of an X-factor ahead of the 2025 NFL season.

During limited playing time early in his career, Williams displayed dominant play. However, off-the-field trouble and most recently, a season-ending injury in 2024, has kept him from making that next leap.

Now, it's unclear where he stands in the Cowboys' depth chart. He's a candidate to start while also being far from a roster lock and he'll have to fight for his spot on the team. To do that, staying on the field will be ideal. That didn't happen on the first practice of camp.

According to ESPN's Todd Archer , "it appeared Brian Schottenheimer removed Sam Williams from team drills after he hit RB Phil Mafah hard and blew up TE Tyler Neville on a block in back to back plays."

Caught the end of this, but an example? Even without pads on, Sam Williams welcomed Tyler Neville to the NFL by planting him.

Nice run from Deuce with the 2s. https://t.co/QOoWCw1COH pic.twitter.com/Zjy1MHEGwq
— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) July 22, 2025

Obviously, it's good to see Williams being physical, which is exactly what head coach Brian Schottenheimer preached ahead of the team's practice, but you want players to be smart about it.

Even more so Williams specifically, who has had issues with costly penalties in the past. In 2022, he was called for three unnecessary roughness fouls and in 2023, he was called for four personal fouls.

This isn't a big deal, of course, and Schottenheimer might also have been thinking about potential fines for the team with that kind of physicality in a non-padded practice. Deep down, however, I wouldn't be surprised if he loved to see it.

As for Williams, I can't blame him for getting excited at the prospect of live contact drills after being away from the football field for so long. He's going to be fun to watch throughout camp. But he also needs to be smart to stay on the field.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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