FRISCO, Texas — Quinnen Williams said Wednesday that being voted a Dallas Cowboys captain measures how hard a player works, and pointed to the teammates who did not get the patch.
“It means a lot. It means a lot of responsibility. It means a lot of leadership when it comes down to people hearing your voice,” Williams said. “And also it’s a test of how hard you work, because it’s a lot of guys that didn’t make captain, not only leadership, who work extremely well, who are extreme leaders. So just the way they see for this organization is a big task and super dope. And, yeah, I’m super excited about it.”
Brian Schottenheimer announced four captains on Sept. 3 following a player vote. Williams and Kenny Clark carry the patch on defense, Dak Prescott on offense, and Brandon Aubrey on special teams. Dallas named six last season.
Williams arrived in early November, roughly ten months before the vote, in the second half of a chain that started with Micah Parsons. He also sits on the leadership council.
Quinnen Williams On NFC East Games
Williams spent six-plus seasons with the Jets in the AFC East. This is his first full season in the NFC East.
“Division games are super important no matter what just because you play those teams twice a year. Like my coach always tells me, man, when you’re in your division, you build your team to win your division,” Williams explained. “A lot of those guys, a lot of those scouts over there in our division, they put their O-lines together to defeat us. They put their team together to defeat us. Winning your division game is really important.”
Dallas went 4-2 inside the division in 2025 while finishing 7-9-1. The Cowboys lost the opener at Philadelphia 24-20 and beat the Eagles 24-21 in Week 12. They swept Washington, 44-22 at home in October and 30-23 on the road in Week 17. The two New York Giants games split, with Dallas winning 40-37 in overtime in Week 2 and New York taking the finale 34-17 on Jan. 4.
Quinnen Williams On The Week 1 Standard
Williams has been through coaching staff changes before. Christian Parker took over the defense this offseason and moved the front to a 3-4.
“I think the number one thing is to execute at an extreme high level, to execute like we know we can, no mental errors and to win,” Williams said.
Dallas allowed 511 points in 2025, the most in the league, and opponents converted 47.3% of third downs, the worst rate in the NFL.
Williams started all 7 games he played for Dallas and finished with 21 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 9 quarterback hits, and an interception. He signed a three-year, $105.9 million extension this offseason. The Jets drafted him third overall in 2019 out of Alabama.
Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on NBC.
