How will Cowboys replace DE Sam Williams? Rookie Marshawn Kneeland gets first dibs

The first way to overcome a problem is to admit there is a problem in the first place.

Following the loss of defensive end Sam Williams less than a week into training camp with a torn ACL and MCL, that’s where the Dallas Cowboys are.

The Cowboys readily admit it’s a huge setback for Williams and the team.

“That’s a really tough break,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. “Especially for him. Because he was clearly going to be a primary contributor.”

Williams was expected to get 75 percent of the snaps at defensive end behind Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. The Cowboys considered him a third starter and he was going to give them the freedom to use Parsons more at linebacker.

Now the Cowboys must pivot to another option at a position that was already thin in terms of experienced depth.

One reason Williams was going to get more playing time was because the Cowboy lost Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler to the Washington Commanders in free agency.

McCarthy admits Williams should have played more last season.

But hindsight is 20/20.

The question is how to the Cowboys handle the situation going forward?

The most immediate option is for the team to turn to rookie second-round draft pick Marshawn Kneeland.

“The biggest thing is he’ll get more opportunities,” McCarthy said of Kneeland. “And all of our young guys need this training camp, need this atmosphere, but definitely he’ll get more opportunities to take advantage of what’s in front of him.”

Kneeland, who had 13 sacks in 23 games at Western Michigan, has been solid so far in camp, but the pads didn’t come on until Tuesday.

He admits the challenge of trying to make jump from small school star at Western Michigan to a big-time performer in the NFL.

“I wanna show them that I can pass rush, too,” Kneeland said. “I’m not just doing that in the MAC, but I can do that here, too....I haven’t had what you see from some rookies, when you see them get thrown around. Hopefully I won’t have that.”

The Cowboys have a couple of other young defensive ends on the roster.

But they are all unproven and don’t come with expectations of Kneeland, who has drawn comparisons to Cowboys defensive end Lawrence and former Cowboys first-round pick Greg Ellis, who is now the team’s defensive ends coach, because his size, relentless motor and ability to play the run.

Kneeland said Lawrence has already taken him under his wing and is helping him become a pro.

“Big takeaways, attention to detail, how attentive he is with that,” Kneeland said of what Lawrence tells him. “We joke around a lot. When it’s time to work, we work . . . Hands, pass rush and run stopping. And off the field, helping me through a routine. Helping me become a pro.”

All that was before Williams went down.

Kneeland knows the urgency is different now.

“It changes a little bit whether you see it or not,” Kneeland said. “With (Williams) here, I was still playing a good amount but now it’s much more reps I have to take so I got to step it up a notch.”

The Cowboys will give Kneeland every opportunity in camp and the preseason to show what he can do.

But they will also keep their eyes on the free agent market.

In addition to players who might be cut from other teams, there are a number of veterans still on the market.

The Cowboys worked out four veteran defensive ends on Thursday: Carl Lawson, Shaka Toney, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Justin Hollins. They are expected to add Tony and Muhammad.

“As far as moving forward with bringing in any other guys, that’s all part of a normal training camp process,” McCarthy said.