‘Be That Player Again’: Quinnen Williams Says He Is Not Yet Back To His 2022 All-Pro Form With Dallas Cowboys
FRISCO, Texas — Quinnen Williams said Thursday he is not yet playing like himself, even after a sack and 3 tackles for loss in the Dallas Cowboys’ 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, and that his 2022 season remains the standard.
Williams had 12 sacks and was a first-team All-Pro with the New York Jets in 2022. The Jets drafted him No. 3 overall out of Alabama in 2019, and he made three Pro Bowls in New York before Dallas traded for him on Nov. 4, 2025, one day after a 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys sent a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith to the Jets.
Williams still has things to fine-tune and fix before he gets there, he said.
“Not yet. Not yet at all. I feel like I got some stuff I need to fine-tune, some things I need to fix, and just keep going in the right direction,” Williams said. “And hopefully soon I’ll have that game that I feel like I’m myself soon.”
He knows what that game will look like when it arrives.
“I will, yeah. I feel that way. I know exactly how it’s supposed to look, how it’s supposed to feel when it gets there,” Williams explained. “Right now I can just focus on getting better, the things I did wrong, the things I need to do better, and keep going in the right direction. And when that game comes, when that game hits, I can build off that with momentum.”
Quinnen Williams On His 2022 All-Pro Season
The pieces are in place in Dallas for Williams to be that player again, in his view. He pointed to the players and the scheme around him.
“Yeah, that’s the standard. Yeah, first team All-Pro that year, I felt good. I felt I want to achieve that again. I want to be that player again,” Williams said. “And I got the ability. I got the guys around me and the scheme around me to be that. And that’s the standard.”
Williams said after Monday’s win that the defensive line has to be better against the run, DSJ reported. Philadelphia ran for 121 yards in that game.
Williams On The Value Of Defensive Tackles
Interior defensive linemen have drawn premium trades and contracts across the league. Dallas acquired fellow defensive tackle Kenny Clark from the Green Bay Packers in August 2025 in the trade that sent Micah Parsons to Green Bay. The Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX in February and later gave defensive tackle Leonard Williams a three-year, $90 million extension.
Recent Super Bowl champions have been built around the position, in Williams’ view, and teams have noticed.
“Well, 100%, man, especially when you see the last Super Bowl winners and the effect that the defensive tackle position had in those games when it comes down to the teams who won the Super Bowl,” Williams said. “I think the teams around the league really put a high value on the defensive tackle position for that reason itself.”
“And you got guys like Chris Jones, Jalen Carter, Leonard Williams, those guys who dominated in the Super Bowl and affected the Super Bowl in a big way. And those teams won the Super Bowl,” Williams continued.
Trades involving big-name defensive linemen do not bring back memories of his own move, Williams said. He called himself happy to be in Dallas.
“I don’t really be focused on that. … No, not really. No. I was just happy to be here, happy to be in Dallas, happy to be around. Bunch of great guys and I hope those same guys who got traded feel the same and enjoy the same experience that I enjoy,” Williams said. “Especially coming to a team like this with got a great offense and great group of guys around you.”
The Cowboys (3-4) host the Cardinals (2-5) on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT on FOX.
