Quinnen Williams' deal part of bigger plan for Jerry Jones, Cowboys

Jerry Jones, the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, is sometimes an easy target for criticism.

He's absurdly rich and has a 357-foot mega-yacht like a villain from James Bond. He's getting up there in age at 83, and sometimes, it seems as if the NFL has passed him by.

It's easy to forget that he built one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history in the 90s and has consistently kept the Cowboys, aka "America's Team", in the spotlight.

So yes, was it a bit of a shock when Jones traded superstar pass-rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers just before the start of last season?

Yes. It was a shocker, to say the least.

Now, almost a year later, pieces of Jones' plan are coming together, and it's starting to make a bit more sense.

The biggest piece of that plan, the midseason trade with the New York Jets for Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, reached its second stage on Monday.

The Cowboys and Williams reached a three-year, $105.9 million extension that will keep the 6-foot-3, 303-pound four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle a centerpiece of Dallas' defense through 2030.

This extension was all part of the larger plan, per Jones.

"It's a big part of all the moving parts that went with our trade last year," Jones told the team website. "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 [Clark] out there rolling, the deal we made with Rashan Gary and how we used the pick on [Malachi] Lawrence."

Jerry Jones has a plan for the Cowboys centered around Quinnen Williams

Let's take a moment to follow the thread.

The Cowboys traded Parsons to the Packers last August for a 2026 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, a three-time Pro Bowler in his own right.

The extra 2026 first-round pick eventually became UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence at pick No. 23. The extra 2027 first-round draft pick was a part of the trade that brought Williams to Dallas.

The Cowboys also traded with the Packers this offseason for former first-round EDGE Rashan Gary, who has 46.5 career sacks.

Will this plan work for the Cowboys? 

The last time they even made the NFC Championship game was in the mid-90s, so many of Jones' plans have run afoul over the past 30 years.

It is a plan, though, and with Williams as the centerpiece, the Cowboys at least have a chance to make some defensive noise in 2026.