PHOENIX – When free agency began March 9, there seemed to be uncertainty – at least outside the organization – whether the Cowboys could re-sign starting wide receiver Terrance Williams.
A day later, Williams agreed to a four-year, $17 million contract to stay with the team that drafted him in 2013.
"That worked out really nicely," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Sunday at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix. "I think Terrance, hats off to him, he could have made some more money somewhere else. But I think he's comfortable in Dallas, comfortable playing for the Cowboys."
Williams, a full-time starter since 2014, has 177 career catches for 2,791 yards and 20 touchdowns lining up opposite Dez Bryant.
Jones called his re-signing "very important" to the team.
"Physical, tough, never misses (games)," Jones said. "He's always available, which is huge in our game. He doesn't miss, knock on wood. But he's the type of guy we want to be a Dallas Cowboy."
Williams' return also eliminates wide receiver as a potentially significant draft need. The Cowboys have made clear they intend to focus on defensive help in April's draft, though they won't rule out offensive prospects if the value is there in a given round.
"Had we not signed Terrance, we certainly would have been more so looking to maybe draft a receiver at some point," Jones said, "whether that's first round, second round, third round, fourth round. This draft is pretty deep at receiver. We knew that going in."[embeddedad0]
