Von Miller’s arrival in Dallas has changed the math for the Cowboys, and not just because of what he still brings off the edge. Adding a two-time Super Bowl champion at a position of need also squeezes an already crowded room, and one of the names suddenly under real pressure is Sam Williams.
That’s a tough turn for a player who once looked like a promising part of the pass-rush future. Williams, a former second-round pick, flashed early with 8.5 sacks over his first two seasons before a torn ACL ahead of the 2024 season stalled his momentum. He was hoping for a reset in 2026, but Gary Davenport put him on the list of players who could be cut before the regular season.
“Williams may have to jump-start his career elsewhere. Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, rookie Malachi Lawrence and newly signed Von Miller appear to be locks for the 53-man roster. That could leave only one or two spots for Williams, Marist Liufau and James Houston, and Liufau is a core special teams contributor,” Davenport wrote.
“Williams would no doubt quickly get scooped up, but the truth is there may not be room for him in Dallas anymore.”
The clearest hurdle for Williams is Marist Liufau, who Davenport identified as the main player he has to beat out for a roster spot. James Houston is also in the mix, though Davenport noted that Houston’s 5.5 sacks last season make him a strong candidate to stick as a rotational EDGE.
Williams and Liufau both have a path through special teams if they don’t carve out a bigger defensive role, but Liufau’s value on that unit gives him an edge. Still, Williams isn’t without utility there either. He has contributed on special teams and has enough speed to line up as a gunner on punt coverage.
So the decision in Dallas isn’t a simple one. The Cowboys have bodies, talent and limited space, and somebody is going to get squeezed out. If Williams is the odd man out, the expectation is that another team would move quickly.
In Other News...
Eagles Rookie Is Giving Cowboys Fans A Reason To Laugh
Training camp has already given Cowboys fans one small comfort in Philadelphia, and it comes courtesy of a rookie tight end who was supposed to help stabilize the Eagles passing game. Eli Stowers, a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has instead spent much of camp and the preseason fighting to find his footing, with his blocking and receiving both drawing scrutiny as the Eagles try to sort through a depth chart battered by injuries at receiver.
For Dallas, the details are almost beside the point. Any time a division rival invests premium draft capital and then sees the early returns wobble, it invites the kind of unflattering comparisons that stick around, and Stowers has already been mentioned in the same breath as JJ Arcega-Whiteside, another second-round Eagles pick who never lived up to the billing. The bigger issue for Philadelphia is immediate pressure, because the injuries around him leave the rookie with even less margin for error as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Have A Real Roster Decision At Two Key Spots
The Cowboys got a useful look at a few roster battles in their second preseason game, and it did more than just fill out the exhibition calendar. Joe Milton kept building his case to be the backup quarterback, while wide receivers Camden Brown and Jonathan Mingo both put themselves in the conversation for final roster spots. With cutdowns approaching, Dallas is watching not just who plays well, but who keeps stacking productive snaps when the competition gets tighter.
Snap counts are becoming part of the conversation too, which is usually a sign the decisions are getting real. The Cowboys are sorting through a deeper receiving mix and weighing how much value each player brings beyond one good night in August, and they are also open to exploring trades if that helps shape the 53-man roster. For a team trying to balance upside, depth and certainty, the next few evaluations may matter as much as anything that happened in the preseason opener. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Face A Tough QB Roster Decision
Dak Prescott is locked in as the Cowboys starter, but the competition behind him has become one of the more interesting roster questions in camp. Sam Howell and Joe Milton III have both put together strong preseason stretches, enough to make Dallas at least consider carrying all three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster even though teams usually prefer to keep just two.
Todd Archer of ESPN projects that possibility, and it speaks to how much the backup battle has shifted from a routine depth issue to a real decision point. The Cowboys still have not settled the spot behind Prescott, and with the preseason winding down, the outcome is less about naming a favorite and more about deciding whether either Howell or Milton has done enough to force an extra quarterback onto the roster. [Read more 🡒]