Kyler Fox and Mike Fisher report: Maybe determined to avoid another Micah Parsons-style fallout, Cowboys eye a long-term commitment to anchor the interior defense with First-Team All-Pro tackle Quinnen Williams.
OXNARD, Calif. - A year ago, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys used their then-maligned return package for star edge rusher Micah Parsons to address a weakness that's plagued the franchise for years: the interior of the defensive line
And we're not referring to Kenny Clark, who has been a welcome addition to the Dallas defense in his own right.
The Cowboys went out and got Quinnen Williams in an attempt to resurrect their 2025 season, and while the blockbuster deal with the New York Jets didn't fuel a miraculous turnaround, it did give Dallas a foundational piece to repair a flaw.
Jones and the front office sent two premium picks (and Mazi Smith) to New York for Williams, giving the Cowboys an instant top-five upgrade at defensive tackle while creating one of the league's best tandems next to Clark.
But unlike the developments that led to Parsons' ugly exit from The Star, Dallas is looking to lock up the first-team All-Pro well before reaching the stage Parsons did.
The Cowboys' brass was available to the media here in Oxnard mere hours after Dallas' archrival, the Philadelphia Eagles, secured their star interior lineman, Jalen Carter, to a four-year, $152 million extension.
Of course, due to the sour taste left by the Parsons negotiations and the reality that Williams will eventually require an extension, the topic was brought up.
The response was quite enthusiastic.
"Absolutely. We are very open to that," COO Stephen Jones said. "We want Quinnen here for the long haul."
Jones added that there have been talks between Williams and the organization regarding a new deal.
Williams is due $46.15 million in remaining base salary before he's slated to hit the free agent market in March of 2028, so while the Cowboys may have begun dialogue on an extension, nothing seems imminent yet
Now ... it's important to remember that, while it was the juiciest recent example, Parsons' failed negotiations weren't the last ones the Joneses engaged in.
DaRon Bland, Tyler Smith, Hunter Luepke, Sam Williams, T.J. Bass, Reddy Steward, Corey Ballentine, Princeton Fant and Brandon Aubrey have all either been extended or re-signed since Parsons' departure.
And while many anticipated George Pickens' ongoing contract situation could generate some dysfunction ... that front has been fairly quiet, too.
So maybe the Cowboys have decided to do things differently in the wake of the Parsons trade. After all, the processes of extending Bland and Smith didn't attract the criticisms that Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb did back in 2024.
Even if that is the case, though, Williams won't be cheap.
Upon receiving a new deal from the Jets in 2023, Williams tied Aaron Donald as the highest-paid defensive tackle in football ... at the time.
Since then, six players have passed him in terms of average annual value (AAV), and two of them, Carter and Chris Jones, have earned deals that eclipse $31 million per season.
When you compare Williams' AAV ($24 million) to the rest of his peers, it's no wonder that he's lauded as one of the best-value players in the NFL.
However, as long as the negotiations are handled properly, Williams likely won't be a bargain for much longer as the Cowboys look to lock up "Q" long-term.
