Dallas Cowboys and Birmingham Native Quinnen Williams Agree to Terms on a Three-Year, $105.9M Extension

By Tommy Yarrish | dallascowboys.com

The Cowboys and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams have agreed to terms on a three-year, $105.9 million extension, making him one of the highest-paid defensive tackles in the NFL.

Williams, 28, joined the Cowboys at the trade deadline in 2025 after Dallas traded a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick and Mazi Smith to the New York Jets. In seven games for the Cowboys, Williams posted 21 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks plus an interception.

The Birmingham native is a graduate of Wenonah High School, and the school honored him in 2022 by retiring his jersey during its spring game versus Fairfield. After his high school career, he attended the University of Alabama, where he was a red-shirt freshman in 2016. He entered the 2019 NFL Draft, where he was selected third overall by the New York Jets. Williams played with the Jets until his 2025 trade to the Dallas organization.

The Cowboys now have Williams under contract through the 2030 season. Early in training camp, Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones said that Dallas would be open to holding negotiations with Williams and his representation. He is more than happy to have seen that cross the finish line.

“It’s a big part of all the moving parts that went with our trade last year,” Jones told DallasCowboys.com “I think this kind of, at the end of the day, puts a bow on top in terms of knowing that we’re going to have Q here for the next five years long term, and have Kenny [Clark] out there rolling, the deal we made with Rashan Gary and how we used the pick on [Malachi] Lawrence. All these things, you can’t say they were all tied to just that, but it’s a big deal. And certainly he represents everything that we want in a Dallas Cowboys football player. He’s not only a great football player, but he’s a man, he’s a leader who people in the locker room look to every day. I was just talking to Christian [Parker], he’s the best player out on the field.”

Williams is now set to make $35.3 million in average annual value, the second-most among NFL defensive tackles trailing only Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter.

From the outset, Williams made clear that he too wanted to remain a Cowboy for a long time.

“For sure, man,” Williams said when asked if he wanted to stay with the Cowboys long-term. “Especially being here with these guys, man. You’ve got a phenomenal group, a phenomenal staff, organization wise, it’s unbelievable. And then having guys that you can call and lean on, like DeMarcus Ware is one of my guys, it’s unbelievable man. Like I said, I’m not focused on no contract, I definitely want to be here for the long haul, I definitely would enjoy and love being here for the long haul, but I want to win, and that’s kind of the only thing I’m really focused on.”

Williams is paired up front on Dallas’ defensive line alongside Kenny Clark, and the two have now had a full offseason to work together. In that, the veteran Clark had high praise for his now long-term counterpart.

“I haven’t played with a d-tackle like that my whole career,” Clark said of Williams. “I played with a lot of great players, but a guy that’s dominant like that at the defensive tackle position, he’s a great player. I’m looking forward to that, I hope they slide to him and I can get me some one-on-ones, and we do what it do.”

And in just over a month, they’ll line up together against the New York Giants in Week 1 for their first full season playing alongside one another.

Last season, Williams finished sixth in the NFL among defensive tackles in quarterback pressures with 45 while facing double teams 40.2% of the time. As a run defender, Williams led the league in run stuffs with 19, adding 36 run stops as well.