On Monday evening, the Dallas Cowboys dropped to 3-5-1 on the 2025 NFL season with a frustrating home loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. It was the second straight rough week for the Cowboys' offense, led by Dak Prescott, who had been playing some elite football prior to that point.
On Tuesday, the NFL trade deadline began counting down its last 24 hours, and seemingly in response to the loss against Arizona, the Cowboys made an aggressive move to cash in on the New York Jets' firesale.
“Blockbuster: The #Cowboys are trading for #Jets Pro Bowl DT Quinnen Williams, sending a first-round pick and more to NYJ, per The Insiders. A new home for one of the NFL’s best to team that values interior DLs, as NYJ builds for the future,” reported NFL insider Ian Rapoport on X, formerly Twitter.
“Along with a 2nd round and a future 1st rounder, the #Jets are trading for DT Mazi Smith, source said,” he added.
Williams was not the first high profile defensive player on the Jets to be traded on Tuesday, as earlier in the day, the team sent star cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts.
Clearly, the Cowboys have taken their defensive struggles to heart this year, as many have blamed that side of the ball as the culprit for why the team has such a poor record despite having one of the most explosive offenses in the league.
Opposing quarterbacks have routinely put together great games against this Cowboys defense so far this season, so the arrival of Williams should help Dallas to at least put some pressure on the opposition, if nothing else. It certainly is worth wondering how much different things might look at the present moment had the Cowboys not traded Micah Parsons shortly before the season.
In any case, the Cowboys will now have a bye week before they next take the field on November 17 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
