Before free agency gets underway in less than a month, the Dallas Cowboys have decided to keep one of their important players and not let him reach the open market.
Javonte Williams Signs New Deal With the Dallas Cowboys
According to Adam Schefter, the Cowboys have re-signed free agent running back Javonte Williams and have prevented him from testing the open market. The two sides have agreed to a three-year, $24 million contract, with $16 million in guarantees.
The deal is now equivalent to D’Andre Swift of the Chicago Bears as the 16th-highest-paid running back in the league. Spotrac had his market value projected at three years and $22.1 million.
Williams was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft and ended his rookie season with 203 carries, rushing for 903 yards and four rushing touchdowns through 17 games.
Unfortunately, in 2022, Williams suffered a devastating knee injury, tearing his ACL and LCL after Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Following his injury, he struggled to return to the strong, dominant running back he was, and his numbers dipped.
At the start of free agency last season, Williams signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys. Last season, he started all 16 games he played, rushing for 1,201 yards on 252 attempts, scoring 11 touchdowns, and adding 35 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
In January, Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones made clear they wanted to bring back the running back. “Javonte’s at the top of our list to go out and sign,” he said. “We want to bring him back. We want to sign him to a multiple-year deal.”
The former UNC running back led the running back depth chart in front of Malik Davis, Jaydon Blue, and Miles Sanders. Williams didn’t just add value in the running game; he was great in pass protection throughout the season. He helped keep the pocket clean for quarterback Dak Prescott.
Williams will turn 26 in April and still has a lot of football left in him, with the hope of building off his statistics from last season. According to PFSN’s RB Impact Metric, he finished last season as the ninth-ranked running back in the league with an impact score of 74.5.
Now the Cowboys’ focus will be on resigning star receiver George Pickens, who is also a free agent. If the Cowboys can lock up both of their offensive free agents in Pickens and Williams, they can move the focus to the defensive side for the NFL draft.
For other teams who are searching for running backs in free agency, Breece Hall, Travis Etienne Jr., Tyler Allgeier, and J.K. Dobbins are all currently available.
