Nick Wright Calls Cowboys’ Quinnen Williams Trade ‘Total Insanity’

The New York Jets traded Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys in return for Mazi Smith and two early picks in the upcoming drafts.

Nick Wright Calls Cowboys’ Quinnen Williams Trade ‘Total Insanity’

Quinnen Williams, Nick Wrdight (Images via YarBarker/ Athlon Sports)

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The Dallas Cowboys’ offense have bounced back this season with stellar showcases against top teams. However, their defense has suffered a major setback in the offseason when they lost their star four-time Pro Bowler Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. This offseason setback rolled into the season as their defensive unit has failed to step up on many counts.

The Cowboys’ general manager and owner, Jerry Jones, knew that they needed reinforcement to be a contender. Ahead of the trade deadline, the Cowboys traded for the New York Jets DT Quinnen Williams. Though the moves have won him some praise, not everyone shared the same opinion. A few, including Nick Wright, admitted that they think the Cowboys did themselves no good with the Hail Mary save.

In a recent episode on First Things First, Wright claimed that the move diminished what they tried to achieve from the Parsons trade in August. The Cowboys had to hand over Mazi Smith and two early picks in successive drafts in order to bring Williams to Jerry’s World. Wright said:

This is insanity by Dallas. Total insanity. They gave up, potentially, 90% for Quinnen Williams of what they got for Micah Parsons. And those players are not in the same stratosphere as far as impact on your team,” Wright said during his rant.

Though a few aspects of what Wright said make sense, Quinnen Williams is not a player to be written off completely. He has faced adversity and risen from there. In purely production numbers, in the games he has played this season, he has matched his tackle record from the last 16.

The staggering point here is the fact that the Dallas Cowboys have managed to be financially sound with the decisions they have made. They also traded for Logan Wilson from Cincinnati and upgraded one of the weakest D-Lines in the league. And their combined salary would still be half what Jones would have had to pay Parsons.

Quinnen Williams was actively pursued by the Jaguars at the trade deadline

Ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Jacksonville Jaguars were reportedly very active in trying to acquire defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, per Jordan Schultz. While Williams ultimately ended up being traded to the Dallas Cowboys, Schultz noted that Jacksonville made a serious attempt, adding that the deal falling through “wasn’t for a lack of trying.”

Quinnen Williams
Quinnen Williams (Image via SI)

The defensive tackle has been one of the Jaguars’ clear roster needs, particularly when it comes to generating more consistent interior pressure. During the team’s bye week, offensive coordinator Liam Coen acknowledged the importance of boosting production from that group. Coen explained that the staff spent time evaluating how to help their linemen in passing situations:

We need it. We’ve looked at how to help them on early downs, create more of an edge, and get some favorable matchups.

Had the Jaguars succeeded, the Jags would have avoided a reunion between Williams and his former DL coach, Aaron Whitecotton. On Tuesday, Quinnen Williams spoke with reporters in Dallas about his move to the Cowboys, and he didn’t hesitate to highlight one major reason he’s excited: reuniting with Whitecotton.

Williams credited Whitecotton for helping him make the jump from a talented young player to one of the league’s top interior defenders.

I think anybody can look at the resume. I had Whitecotton, I was kind of ascending to be a good defensive tackle. But once Whitecotton came into my life as a coach, I became an All-Pro and Pro Bowler.

He added that Whitecotton’s technical coaching and guidance were “unbelievable” and played a major role in elevating his game. Now, Williams believes the reunion will lead to even greater results. The Cowboys start their week against the Las Vegas Raiders hunting for their fourth win.

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