Several things have gone right for the Dallas Cowboys to be on their current three-game winning streak. However, an argument can be made that nothing has been more impactful than the trade earlier this month for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
After Dallas sent the New York Jets a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick and DT Mazi Smith in exchange for Williams, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones shared that he attempted to trade for Williams when they were shopping All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons before the season started.
On Friday, Jones shared that his offer to the Jets at that time was a first-round pick and Parsons for Williams.
“I thought that much of Williams,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. He added that the deal didn’t go through because the Jets didn’t have the salary cap space necessary to pay Parsons.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on @1053thefan said he offered the New York Jets a first-round pick and Micah Parsons for DT Quinnen Williams before the season started. “I thought that much of Williams.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 28, 2025
In late August, the Cowboys traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for DT Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. Green Bay then signed Parsons to a four-year, $188 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Parsons is currently third in the NFL in sacks with 12.5. And for the fifth consecutive season, he’s in the running for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
According to Pro Football Focus, Williams has 21 quarterback pressures in his three games with the Cowboys. He had 19 in eight games this season with the Jets.
Williams is indirectly part of the return on the Cowboys’ stunning trade of Parsons, which means there will be comparisons made for a long time.
And Jones has no problem discussing them, especially when things are going well for the Cowboys.
“Micah is very impactful, but we really hadn’t won with Micah,” Jones said Friday. “Not because of Micah. We just hadn’t won because (the opponent) was able to work around us having Micah. They ran right at him or they basically threw the ball quicker. Those are simplistic things. And there was no question that if we could replace him with four or five top players, (George) Pickens-type players … that was all in the thinking with Micah Parsons.”
The Cowboys went to the playoffs each of Parsons’ first three years with the team, winning 12 games in each of those seasons. While they had tremendous regular-season success, they were never able to get beyond the divisional round of the playoffs.