OXNARD, Calif. – During the Cowboys' opening press conference on Tuesday, Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones said that Dallas would be interested in beginning conversations on an extension with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
Williams, who is 28 and heading into his eighth overall NFL season and first full year with the Cowboys, said Wednesday that he would like to remain in Dallas long-term but is currently more focused on building the defense in Oxnard.
"For sure, man," Williams said when asked if he wanted to stay with the Cowboys long-term. "Especially being here with these guys, man. You've got a phenomenal group, a phenomenal staff, organization wise, it's unbelievable. And then having guys that you can call and lean on, like DeMarcus Ware is one of my guys, it's unbelievable man. Like I said, I'm not focused on no contract, I definitely want to be here for the long haul, I definitely would enjoy and love being here for the long haul, but I want to win, and that's kind of the only thing I'm really focused on."
When did Williams know he wanted to stick with the Cowboys long-term?
"When I got traded here…" Williams said. "When somebody believes in you, to know that, 'Okay, you're one of the guys I feel like you can help us win and help us achieve the goal that we always want to achieve.' So as soon as I got traded, I wanted to be here, I wanted to be here for the long haul. I didn't want to just come and play around, I want to be here and win, I want to win for the organization."
The defensive tackle market is one that's rapidly on the rise. Tennessee's Jeffery Simmons getting a three-year deal worth $35.3 million in AAV back in June, and Philadelphia's Jalen Carter becoming the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history on Tuesday with a four-year deal where he'll earn $38 million per year. For Williams, it's been nice to see his position group's value grow over the years.
"It's just phenomenal to see the impact that my position, defensive tackle, is making," Williams said. "You always see the teams that're in the Super Bowl have d-tackles with Seattle, the Eagles and Kansas City in a few years. Those guys have been very effective and things like that. That's all I focus on, just focus on bringing an impact to this team, bringing an impact to this defense and trying to get this team going in the right direction so another d-tackle will be in the Super Bowl."
As for where Williams and the Cowboys are on talks, Williams says he leaves that work up to his representation.
"I truly don't know," Williams said. "I let them handle that. I'm just truly enjoying being here, I'm enjoying being on the Dallas Cowboys. First training camp, first time in Oxnard, first time kind of being in a sense where we can get better and trying to get better on defense, especially with the new guys coming in, with the new staff coming in."
Earlier in the offseason, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott made a note that Williams had never been to the playoffs in his career, and is motivated by wanting to make sure he gets to experience and play well in that environment. Conversely, Williams sees the work that Prescott and others puts in and wants to push himself and his defensive teammates to match the production of Dallas' offense.
"I want to win for not only me, myself personally, but guys like Dak Prescott who works his tail off and has been here 10 years and deserves a Super Bowl," Williams said. "And guys like CeeDee [Lamb], who's a five-time Pro Bowler and been here for five years, and who deserves a Super Bowl."
"You just see those things like that, and you just see how great they were last year, and the defense wasn't so great. It just urges me, personally, to get this defense together so the hard work that they put in won't just be going to waste anymore."
It's here in Oxnard where the work begins towards achieving that goal for Williams and his teammates. Over the course of the next three and a half weeks, Williams is taking it upon himself to help lead the defense to get to where they need to be in order to compete for a championship.
"As a competitor, I want to win it all," Williams said. "I've competed in this sport, I'm an ultimate competitor, and I want to win every single game if I can. I was bred to win from coach Saban, and doing things that we can do at [Alabama], and I want to bring the same mentality especially to this defense, because our offense has that mentality."
