UPDATE: The MRI confirmed that Williams tore his ACL, per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
The MRI confirmed that promising DE Sam Williams is out for the season with a torn ACL. Brutal. https://t.co/MRZZCHfkj8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 28, 2024
The Pittsburgh Steelers will play host to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5 on Sunday Night Football at Acrisure Stadium, but Dallas will likely be without one of its key defensive players. DE Sam Williams is “feared to have torn his ACL” during Dallas’ practice today, per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
#Cowboys DE Sam Williams is feared to have torn his ACL in practice today, sources tell me and @RapSheet. He’ll have an MRI to confirm. A tough blow early in camp. pic.twitter.com/xGcKIjT2Wz
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 28, 2024
In 17 games last season, Williams, a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, had 4.5 sacks and 26 tackles in a rotational role. As a rookie, Williams was fifth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting after recording four sacks, 22 tackles and one pass defensed in 15 games. He was expected to play a bigger role for Dallas this season, but if it is indeed a torn ACL, he’ll miss the season.
Dallas still has DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons off the edge, but Williams was its top depth behind the two. Rookie Marshawn Kneeland will likely need to step up and play a significant role behind Lawrence and Parsons if Williams does wind up missing the season.
It’s another piece of bad news coming out of Cowboys camp, where CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott are both in line for new contracts. Lamb is holding out, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can get something done with the Cowboys ahead of the regular season with the exploding wide receiver market. Williams’ injury is the latest blow, especially after a disappointing offseason where the Cowboys didn’t do much to improve their roster.
Williams will have an MRI to confirm the extent of the injury, and the Cowboys will have their fingers crossed that it’s not a torn ACL as feared.
