Cowboys Javonte Williams 'Done Healing' in Exciting Update

Back in March, the Dallas Cowboys signed running back Javonte Williams as their first external free agent of the offseason. He agreed to terms on a one-year, $3 million deal in his first free agency since entering the NFL in 2021.

Dallas' 2024 starting back Rico Dowdle signed with the Carolina Panthers, which forced the Cowboys to rebuild their unit with three more additions in free agent Miles Sanders and draft picks Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah.

Williams and the bunch are expected to enter a heated competition this summer for the starting running back job. Although he is coming off a down year, the former Denver Broncos ball-carrier - a potential starter here - is motivated thanks to a noticeable improvement in his health.

Javonte leapt onto the scene as a second-round pick with an impressive 903 rushing yards as a rookie despite only one start. The following year, he tore his ACL five games into the season.

The last couple years have been a slow return - as knee surgeries typically are - but now he's offering an optimistic update.

“I feel completely like myself," Williams said, via the team’s website. "I probably can get more flexible and things like that, but as far as healing up, that I feel like is done."

Last season, Williams played all 17 games for the first time since being a rookie. He started in only 11 of them, but was honest about his recovery timeline beyond a year since the injury.

"It just depends on who you are, it depends on your body… mine might take this amount of time, but somebody else might be different," Williams said.

"It's a lot that goes into it that people don't really understand. Just to be back out here and have another opportunity and chance to show myself, I can't ask for nothing else."

At OTA practices the past week, Williams has been showing off his newfound youth as the first-team running back in drills. Sanders has more experience and a higher peak in the NFL so far, and the rookies have sparked a lot of interest, but Williams isn't backing down from the challenge.

"They didn't really tell me too much about that [rotation] stuff, all I know is just come in here and work every day, and everything else is going to take care of itself," Williams said. "I'm not really big on the expectations and goals and stuff like that, I just go out and play well."

He will look to fit nicely into Dallas' physical run-heavy scheme under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer and get back to his old ways.

Williams is only a fresh 25 years old, so this update brings a lot to be excited about for the future of the Cowboys run game.