On Monday night, concerns were raised about a potential health issue for Dallas Cowboys star lineman Quinnen Williams, arguably the most important player on the defensive side of the ball here in 2026. Williams, along with fellow lineman Kenny Clark, was the primary player the Cowboys brought in with one of the first-round picks the team acquired in the Micah Parsons trade last year, and was expected to be the anchor of a front that was built to stop the running game, one of the Cowboys’ big issues in recent years.
But Williams has not looked quite like himself for the first two weeks of the season, especially against the run–the Cowboys have allowed 347 yards rushing in two games, which is 30th among NFL teams. And very often, it appears that teams are attacking Dallas right up the gut.
Jerry Jones on Quinnen Williams Injury: ‘No’
On Sunday night after the Cowboys’ win over the Commanders, Williams was speaking to the media and raised some alarms by answering a question about having removed himself from the game a few times: “I was just kinda a little banged up. Just trying to–yeah, got a little banged up.”
On Tuesday, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones, in his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, shut down chatter suggesting that Williams is hurt. Jones was asked, “Is Quinnen Williams banged up at all? Looked like he was a little slow to get off the field a couple times, and has looked like he has had some trouble, isn’t consistent on his tape. Is he dealing with anything?”
“No,” Jones said. “No, he’s not.”
Cowboys Not Getting Usual Production Up Front
There was speculation from Cowboys analyst John Owing on Monday, who pointed out that Williams was getting knocked off his attack far easier than he normally would.
Owing displayed an example in a video he posted on Twitter/X, writing, “Wonder if something is going on with Big Q that the public doesn’t know yet because there’s no way he should get catapulted off his spot by Brandon Coleman of all people like this. He was also slow to get up on a few different occasions as well. #Cowboys“
And it is worth noting that the play is not an isolated example. Through two games, his PFF grade is 49.1, which is No. 85 out of 115 defensive linemen. That is by far a career low. In fact, he was at 88.7 on his PFF grade last season, which was the No. 2 grade among defensive linemen in the NFL.
Cowboys Shut Down Star’s New Injury Concern With 4 Words