Cowboys stun NFL world with Quinnen Williams trade

Even with a record below .500, the Cowboys went all-in at the trade deadline –– and are getting absolutely crushed for the price they paid to acquire Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams.

Williams, who is heralded as a legitimate pass rusher, has just one sack this year, but that didn’t stop the Cowboys from trading a 2026 second-rounder, a 2027 first-rounder and defensive tackle Mazi Smith for Williams — a move Bill Simmons labeled as “f–king bonkers.”

“Dallas is drunk,” Simmons said on his eponymous podcast. “This is one of the worst… This Dallas trade is f–king bonkers. If I was a Cowboys fan, my head would be doing 360s. You’re 3-5-1. You have no chance to do anything in the playoffs. What are you doing?”

Warning: Explicit language

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who also serves as the general manager, appears to still be calling the shots as he attempts to get his team into contention and fix the defense.

Dallas’ defense is ranked No. 31 by FTN’s DVOA, a number that should perhaps improve after the Williams deal.

But seemingly, everyone is crushing Jones, 83, for the trade.

ESPN’s Seth Walder gave the Cowboys an F for the trade, calling the move “horrific,” while the Jets grabbed an A in a wild trade deadline sell-off that included sending cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts.

Fox Sports’ Nick Wright called the move “insanity by Dallas.”

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“They gave up potentially 90 percent of what they got for Micah Parsons,” Wright pointed out.

When the Cowboys shipped Parsons to the Packers before the start of the season, they received a 2026 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive lineman Kenny Clark.

If you add the two trades together, the Cowboys essentially traded Parsons, a 2026 second-round pick, and Smith for Williams, Clark, and a first-round pick.

Williams will get a fresh start in Dallas, where he has two more seasons left on his deal after this one.