Cowboys Terminate Contract of Former Second-Round Pick

The Dallas Cowboys finalized their 53-man roster Sunday and left former second-round pick Sam Williams off the list.

Williams will not be on the opening-day roster, at least not yet, after the team made its cuts ahead of the regular season.

ESPN reporter Todd Archer first reported the move.

“Sources: The Cowboys have released veteran edge rusher Sam Williams, who signed a one-year deal with $2 million guaranteed in March. Von Miller addition took away an edge rusher spot on the 53,” Archer wrote on X on Sunday.

Williams signed that one-year contract in March with $2 million guaranteed.

The addition of veteran pass rusher Von Miller earlier this month squeezed Williams out of a roster spot on the edge.

Williams entered the league in 2022 as a high-upside prospect out of Ole Miss and was viewed by some as a borderline first-round talent. He produced 8.5 sacks across his first two NFL seasons and showed flashes of the disruption the Cowboys hoped to see.

An ACL tear in training camp cut short his 2024 season before it really began. Williams also served a three-game suspension after a reckless driving charge in 2023.

The Cowboys needed more production from the position in 2025 after Micah Parsons left the franchise and after the death of 2024 second-round edge rusher Marshawn Kneeland. Williams did not fill that void. He finished with one sack in 17 games and five starts last season.

Dallas has quietly built one of the deeper edge groups in the league even without a single player matching Parsons’ peak impact.

The Cowboys traded for Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl rusher Rashan Gary this offseason. They used a first-round pick in the 2026 draft on UCF’s Malachi Lawrence. They also signed Miller, who turned 37 in March yet still posted nine sacks last season with the Washington Commanders.

2025 second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku is expected to see significant snaps in the rotation alongside Gary, Lawrence and Miller.

In Williams’ place, the Cowboys kept pass-rush specialist James Houston. They also retained former 2023 undrafted free agent Tyrus Wheat, who returned this offseason after a year with the Detroit Lions.

Wheat appeared in 15 games for Detroit last season and recorded 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one tackle for loss.

Williams’ release ends his latest chapter in Dallas after a career that never fully matched the expectations that accompanied his draft status. The Cowboys now turn to the group they assembled around him as they prepare for the regular season.