The Dallas Cowboys agreed Monday to a three-year, $105.9 million extension with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, a deal that carries a $35.3 million annual average and ranks second highest among defensive tackles. The contract pushes Williams’ deal through 2030; he had been signed through 2027.
The move continues a recent string of high-profile extensions. In the past 12 months the Cowboys made Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith the highest paid interior offensive lineman at $24 million per season (a mark later surpassed), signed kicker Brandon Aubrey for $7 million annually, and kept tight end Jake Ferguson and cornerback DaRon Bland from reaching unrestricted free agency with deals that ranked each eighth at their positions. Ferguson’s deal averages $12.5 million and Bland’s $22.5 million, the team said.
The team also signed defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to a four-year, $80 million contract in March 2025; Odighizuwa was traded to the San Francisco 49ers before the draft. Earlier notable negotiations included Dak Prescott’s record-setting $60 million-per-year deal finalized the morning of the 2024 season opener and CeeDee Lamb’s deal that averaged $34 million after he missed much of training camp. Last summer’s Micah Parsons standoff ended with Parsons being traded to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks.
Those draft-pick protections remain in place: if the Cowboys finish with a better record than the Packers in 2026, then Green Bay’s first-rounder will be sent to the New York Jets as part of the trade that brought Williams to Dallas in November.
Executive vice president Stephen Jones has said it takes two sides to get a deal done and that the organization wanted Williams for the long haul. Williams’ agent, Nicole Lynn of Klutch Sports, was at practice over the weekend. Wide receiver George Pickens is playing this season on a $27.3 million franchise tag for 2026 after the Cowboys declined extension talks this offseason; owner Jerry Jones said he has a long-term vision for Pickens, though any extension cannot be completed until next offseason.
