Cowboys' Jerry Jones Confirms Micah Parsons Trade Offer for Jets' Quinnen Williams

The Dallas Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets earlier this month at the trade deadline, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed Friday that he actually tried to get a deal done for Williams this past offseason.

During an appearance on 105.3 The Fan (h/t Jon Machota of The Athletic), Jones said he offered the Jets star pass-rusher Micah Parsons and a first-round pick for Williams prior to the start of the 2025 regular season, adding, "I thought that much of Williams."

On Nov. 9, Jay Glazer first reported during an NFL on Fox broadcast that the Cowboys tried to get a Parsons-for-Williams swap done.

"For the Quinnen Williams trade, the Dallas Cowboys, what people don't know, actually all the way back in the summer, were trying to get Quinnen Williams," Glazer said. "Wanted to offer up Micah Parsons to the Jets in a trade for Quinnen Williams and a draft pick. The Jets didn't want to do it then. But as the Tuesday trade deadline started coming about, the Cowboys knew 'I think we could get him.' And whatever it took, they wanted to dive in and they were over the moon they could get Quinnen Williams."

SNY's Connor Hughes disputed that an actual Parsons-for-Williams offer was made, reporting that Jones and Jets owner Woody Johnson had a "brief" conversation that ended when it became clear that the Jets were unwilling to offer Parsons the type of contract extension he was looking for:

The Cowboys ended up trading Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark in August before landing Williams from the Jets on Nov. 4 for a conditional 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.

The decision to trade Parsons rather than signing him to a massive contract extension initially looked like a big mistake.

Dallas started the season 3-5-1 and the defense was the worst in the league statistically aside from that of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Parsons has continued his dominance in Green Bay with 12.5 sacks through 12 games, making him the first player in NFL history to record 12 or more sacks in each of his first five seasons.

While that has undoubtedly been tough for Cowboys fans to watch, the arrival of Williams has helped transform the defense.

In three games since Williams' arrival from the Jets, the Cowboys are 3-0 with wins over the reigning NFC and AFC champions in the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.

▶️ Full Chiefs-Cowboys Recap

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Williams, 27, is a three-time Pro Bowler and one-time First Team All-Pro, and he has played at that level during his short time in Dallas, recording nine tackles, 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss.

At 6-5-1, the Cowboys still have a lot of work to do to get into playoff position, but they have a legitimate chance now, and there is little doubt that Williams is a big reason why.

Three of the Cowboys' five remaining games are against teams with losing records, and next week they face a Detroit Lions team that has lost four of their past seven games, which suggests they could finish the season on a high note and potentially enter the postseason on a hot streak.