Cowboys DE Sam Williams' season-ending injury could snowball into an even bigger problem for him

Dallas Cowboys DE Sam Williams' season-ending injury suffered on a routine special teams drill can only be described as brutal.

The third-year player was on track for a bigger role on defense as the clear-cut No. 3 defensive end on the Cowboys and with Micah Parsons moving around the field, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer went as far as claiming he expected a snap count around the 75% mark for Williams , whose career highest had previously been 28%, per Pro Football Reference.

And the best part? Williams has always been a high producer, with 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in two years of limited playing time. Stepping up his time on the field led to major expectations for his production.

All of that gone in an instant with a pre-August injury.

Now for what could be the worst part of things: The Cowboys' blurry future combined with the timing of Williams' unfortunate injury makes the defensive end's fate cloudy.

The 2025 NFL season will be a contract year for Williams and one in which there could potentially be a new coaching staff in town. After all, the Cowboys have most of the staff under contract through 2024 only, including head coach Mike McCarthy and even the recently-signed Zimmer, who is on a one-year rental.

With the Cowboys potentially signing Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, in the not-so-distant future , players like Williams will have a much more difficult time landing their own deals to stick around as the front office might look to cut player costs, let alone sign an expensive deal.

Instead of having a bigger role for two seasons while proving his worth, he'll only get 2025 and that'll be off of an ACL and MCL tear. Additionally, there's a chance he'll have to prove himself to a second coaching staff in as many years.

It's a tough spot to be at for the young DE and one that will really test him. Can he come back stronger than ever in 2025 to prove the Cowboys shouldn't move on after his rookie deal? Or will his season-ending injury snowball into him shopping for a new team in two years?

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