Javonte Williams came close to walking away from football before he ever found his footing in Dallas.
The Cowboys running back said on the Downs 2 Business podcast that retirement was on his mind after a difficult stretch with the Denver Broncos, where injuries and inconsistency derailed the momentum he had built as a rookie.
“I was really about to just hang up the cleats,” Williams said on the Downs 2 Business podcast.
Williams entered the league as a second-round pick of Denver in 2022 and flashed early promise, but his final three seasons with the Broncos were defined by frustration. He said the change of scenery in Dallas changed everything.
“No disrespect to nobody in Denver or nothing like that, I respect everybody over there, I respect what they got going on,” Williams added. “Just coming to Dallas it felt like it's a new awakening. I felt like a rebirth.”
“Just leaving there and coming here, the coaches believing in me, everybody just like lifting me up. It kind of felt like UNC all over again. Me just going out there just playing, having fun.”
“I just fell in love with the game again. I really had lost love for the game...
I had already bought a crib... I'm like I might just start my real estate or something,” Williams concluded.
And in Dallas, that “rebirth” has shown up on the field.
There were plenty of doubts when the Cowboys handed him the starting job after his rough run in Denver, but Williams delivered a huge season. He set career highs with 1,201 rushing yards and 1,338 scrimmage yards, and he scored 13 total touchdowns, including 11 on the ground.
That production earned him a three-year, $24 million deal this past offseason.
This year, Williams has had to work a little harder through the first seven games, but the numbers still tell a strong story. He has 472 rushing yards, 103 receiving yards and nine total touchdowns, with eight rushing scores that lead the NFL.
He’s also coming off his biggest game of the 2026 campaign, rolling for a career-best 155 rushing yards in Week 7.
Dallas needs that version of Williams to keep showing up. The Cowboys are looking for their ground game to give Dak Prescott and the passing attack some breathing room, and if Week 7 was any indication, Williams may be ready to keep pushing this thing forward.
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