Cowboys suffer major injury setback, DE Sam Williams out for season with torn ACL

The Dallas Cowboys braced for their first major injury setback in training camp after defensive end Sam Williams went down an apparent left knee injury in Sunday’s practice and had to be carted off the field.

The Cowboys are hoped for the best, but feared the worst.

Several Cowboys staffers said it didn’t look good.

Owner Jerry Jones told reporters after practice that the team’s doctors “Didn’t like what we saw.”

A magnetic resonance imaging exam confirmed as much as Williams suffered a torn ACL and MCL. He is out for the season.

It is a huge setback to the depth at defensive end behind DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons.

They had hoped the presence of Williams would allow them to use Parsons at linebacker at times this season.

Williams, a 2022 second-round pick out of Ole Miss, was looking forward to more playing time in 2024 and possibly having a breakout season.

He has played in 32 games over the past two seasons, tallying 8.5 sacks, 48 tackles (30 solo), 16 quarterback hits and two forced fumbles.

The Cowboys already had questionable depth at the position following the losses of Dorrance Armstrong and Dante Fowler to the Washington Commanders in free agency.

The Cowboys selected former Western Michigan pass rusher Marshawn Kneeland in the second round of the 2024 draft with plans of playing him in the rotation.

Now, they need him to step up big time as the primary backup at defensive end.

Viliami Fehoko, Tyrus Wheat and Durrell Johnson will also get opportunities to show what they can do to make up for the possible loss of Williams.