FRISCO, Texas – A year ago Wednesday, Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams got surgery on his left knee after suffering a torn ACL and MCL.
Williams had a countdown on his phone leading up to the one year anniversary to serve as a reminder of the position he's in and how lucky he is to get to do what he does on a daily basis.
In two weeks, he'll retake the field for an NFL game for the first time in 599 days.
"I wouldn't say I'm anxious at all," Williams said. "I'm very patient, I'm working on my craft every day, just taking it one day at a time and being where my feet are at."
Missing out on so much time makes coming back all that sweeter. When Williams returned to Oxnard for training camp, Brian Schottenheimer joked that Williams was the most excited of the entire team to go back out and play football again.
That said, his amped up approach to getting on the field wasn't just unique to 2025.
"I'm a dog every day," Williams said. "This is not a show, this is not because I missed, every day. First year, second year, go watch the tape and you'll see this is normal…"
"I'm very excited, just excited for any opportunity that presents itself. I'm going to take full advantage of it and just go out and be Sam."
With Matt Eberflus now running the defense, Williams will have his third defensive coordinator in as many years. This scheme has an aspect to it that Williams believes he'll fit perfectly in.
"The main point of emphasis on his defense is be violent," Williams said. "I feel like I'm pretty good at that."
From Micah Parsons to Dante Fowler and now rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku coming along, the Cowboys are loaded at defensive end. While that may take away time on the field in some instances, Williams is a fan of the depth in the room and how he and his teammates have meshed up to this point.
"It's a good thing," Williams said. "Especially when it comes to the competition standpoint. We all compete with each other but in a good, positive way because we all want to see each other do great."
Williams is heading into his fourth year with the Cowboys. While that isn't long, he's still among some of the more tenured defensive ends on the roster. The next step he wants to take in his career is growing as a leader in the room, but he wants to earn that title his own way.
"I'm really just staying grounded into molding myself into somebody that people want to follow," Williams said. "You can put the image of leader on me because I've played four years in the league, but that's not what a leader is. A leader is somebody that comes out and shows up every day, gives it all, and people around them see that."
"That's what I'm trying to do. I don't know if that label is on me yet, but I'm going to keep going until I get that label."
Going into his fourth NFL season also means Williams is heading into the final year of his rookie contract. After missing all of the 2024 season, he understands that his play this year is what he needs to focus on if he wants a big pay day come next offseason.
"I'm not worried about that…" Williams said. "Contract is going to handle itself. I've got to make plays. I can't think about contracts if I just missed last year."
