The arrival of Von Miller in Dallas has set off the kind of roster ripple that every NFL training camp eventually produces. For Sam Williams, the 2022 second-round pick who has spent his entire professional life in a Cowboys uniform, the addition of the league’s active sack leader suddenly makes an already crowded edge group feel even tighter.
In fact, Nick Harris of the Star Telegram feels that Williams could end up being a roster cut in the wake of the Miller addition.
Williams entered the league with the kind of raw tools that make scouts dream. At Ole Miss he was a first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American disruptor, the kind of athlete who could bend the edge and close in a hurry. Dallas selected him 56th overall and quickly discovered both the promise and the limitations. In his first two seasons he posted 8.5 sacks while working primarily as a rotational rusher.
Then came the 2024 training-camp nightmare: a torn ACL and partial MCL that wiped out the entire year. He returned in 2025, played all 17 games, started five, and recorded a career-high 37 tackles. The sack total, however, dropped to one. The explosiveness that once defined him had not fully returned, or at least had not yet translated into the kind of production that secures a long-term role.
This offseason the Cowboys brought him back on a modest one-year deal, a low-risk bet that the 27-year-old could still contribute in a new defensive scheme under Christian Parker. The move to a more traditional outside linebacker role was supposed to play to Williams’ strengths.
Instead, the front office has continued to load the position. Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, first-rounder Malachi Lawrence, and now Miller all stand ahead of him on the depth chart. James Houston and Marist Liufau are also fighting for the same limited snaps.
Roster math is unforgiving. With only so many spots available, Williams and Liufau appear to be competing for the final one.
There is still a path. Preseason opportunities remain, and the Cowboys have historically valued players who can contribute on special teams while offering situational pass-rush ability.
Williams has done both in the past. Yet the presence of a future Hall of Famer who is still producing double-digit pressures changes the calculus.
A trade is possible, though his recent production and injury history may limit the return. More likely is a difficult final cut-down decision that forces the organization to part with a former day-two investment.
Williams has already shown resilience once, coming back from a major knee injury and earning another contract.
Whether that toughness is enough to keep him in Dallas for a fifth season will be decided in the next few weeks. For a player who once looked like a cornerstone of the pass rush, the margin for error has never been thinner.
