Quinnen Williams Contract: How Much Cowboys Owe Star Defensive Tackle After Big Trade

Dallas owes its newest player a lot of money over the next few years.

The New York Jets traded defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys before the 2025 NFL trade deadline. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Cowboys swung big on Tuesday, making a huge trade to acquire Quinnen Williams from the Jets before the deadline. The All-Pro defensive tackle should help Dallas, but they paid a high price to land him.

To bring Williams in, the Cowboys sent a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft, and a first-rounder in 2027, plus defensive tackle Mazi Smith to the Jets. On top of the compensation Dallas gave to New York, Williams has a hefty contract.

The 27-year-old signed a four-year, $96 million contract extension with the Jets in July of 2023 that included $66 million in guarantees. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they’ll wind up on the hook for most of it, and the deal is salary heavy, not bonus heavy.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Dallas owes Williams $7.825 million for the rest of the 2025 season. Then he’ll receive $21.75 million in 2026 and $25.5 million in 2027 before hitting free agency.

Quinnen Williams career stats

Williams may well be worth that contract. So far this season, Pro Football Focus has given him an overall grade of 79.7, which is seventh among interior defensive linemen. He also has the top run defense grade at 90.8. He had an off-year in 2024, when his overall grade was 68.6, and his run defense fell off as well (57.5). In 2023, Williams showed what he could do. He posted a grade of 90.6, a pass rush grade of 84.5, and his run defense was rated at 90.4, the best among his peers.

The Cowboys are hoping they get the 2022 and ‘23 version of Williams. He has had success as both a pass rusher and run stopper in his career. During the ’22 campaign, he racked up a career best 12 sacks, and has 40 in 99 career games.

New York selected Williams with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 NFL and the Alabama product quickly became a cornerstone of the team’s defense. He has gone to three Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro in ’22.

Williams spent the first six-plus years of his career with the Jets. Now he’ll head to Dallas to shake up the team’s depth chart.

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