FRISCO — Losing can wear a man down. The constant defeats at home and on the road for a dysfunctional franchise can leave you looking for something new.

Quinnen Williams, a talented defensive tackle, had seen enough. It was clear he sought a new place of employment after playing seven seasons with the New York Jets.

The Cowboys were trying to obtain Williams before the start of the 2025 season but were rebuffed by Jets team owner Woody Johnson.

Jerry Jones kept trying. And when the Cowboys owner and his front office made another call at the trade deadline, they got Williams.

On Tuesday, the Cowboys gave up a second-round pick in 2026, a first-rounder in 2027 and defensive tackle Mazi Smith for Williams at the trade deadline.

It’s a fresh start for the three-time Pro Bowl and one-time All-Pro player, who instantly improves the defensive line.

But it doesn’t mask the frustration he leaves behind with the Jets.

“As an ultra-competitor, I think anybody who’s going through many, many losses like I was going through, there’s going to be frustration,” he said Wednesday at The Star. “I know guys who go they whole life and they lose one game, they be frustrated. So, of course, I was frustrated, but the relationship that I had with [coach Aaron Glenn]. The relationship with the GM Darren [Mougey], there, man, there’s still great relationships. They knew I was frustrated. I think the world knew I was frustrated being there so long and still losing.”

In seven seasons, Williams had three different head coaches, four if you count the interim. He was also coached by three defensive coordinators. In games that he played, the Jets went 31-67. There was a 0-6 start this season.

The Cowboys traded for backup quarterback Joe Milton in early April. They traded for star wide receiver George Pickens in early May. They then sent Parsons to the Packers on Aug. 29. In that deal, Dallas got defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. Tuesday’s deal for Williams doesn’t happen if Dallas doesn’t gain the two first-round picks from Green Bay.

In exchange for Williams, the New York Jets received Dallas’ 2026 second-round pick, the better of the Cowboys’ two first-round picks in 2027, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.

Combining both deals, it basically works out to be Parsons, a second-round pick and Smith for Williams, Clark and a first-round pick. The Cowboys also gained extra salary-cap space to sign other players. The Packers had the advantage of gaining Parsons at the beginning of the season.

While this has been a disastrous start for the Cowboys, sitting at 3-5-1, adding Williams is a strong move for the rest of 2025 but also into the future. The 27-year-old is one of the NFL’s top defensive tackles and is under contract for two more seasons. He has a $21.75 million salary-cap hit in 2026 and $25.5 million in 2027.

Schottenheimer was in a meeting Tuesday afternoon when vice president of player personnel Will McClay pulled him out to tell him the Williams news.

“It’s exciting,” Schottenheimer said. “Kudos to Jerry and Stephen and Will. Being aggressive, but smart.”

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was as thrilled as anyone in the locker room on Tuesday, telling reporters about the Williams trade, “I’m f–––ing pumped.”

The player who could benefit the most from the trade is Osa Odighizuwa, who should see fewer double teams with Williams lined up next to him.

“He’s going to add more playmaking ability to the D-line …” Odighizuwa said. “Another very strong and talented guy. … I respect his game a lot. The dude’s a baller. I’m excited to have him on the team.”

Earlier in the day, Dallas also traded a seventh-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for linebacker Logan Wilson.

Linebacker has been one of Dallas’ worst position groups. The addition of Wilson gives the Cowboys a veteran who can compete with Kenneth Murray for the starting middle linebacker spot. Wilson, 29, has had four 100-tackle seasons over the previous four years.

Wilson, who arrived at The Star on Tuesday afternoon, described himself as tough, physical and hard-nosed.

“I saw (the trade for Williams) on the plane here,” Wilson said. “I don’t know much about the guy, I just know he’s an incredible player. To be able to play behind him is gonna be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

So how will it work with the trio of Williams, Clark and Odighizuwa in terms of play time? Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus runs a 4-3 scheme, which means four defensive linemen down on the line of scrimmage with three linebackers behind them in the second level of the defense. Odighizuwa has been a Cowboy his entire career since being selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he has started every game for Dallas since his second season in 2022, not missing a game in the last four seasons in this span. He still wants to remain an every game starter.

“Very competitive D-tackle room. Extremely competitive, but we also got guys that are all starting-caliber D-tackles. I don’t look at anybody in our room whether it be Solly [Solomon Thomas], Kenny, [seventh-round rookie] Jay [Toia] and now Quinnen or myself as someone that couldn’t go and start somewhere else,” Odighizuwa said. … Obviously I want to keep starting. I wouldn’t expect anybody in our room to want anything less, so that is what it is. … A lot more competitive now.”

What Eberflus began to do more of in Week 9 against the Cardinals was five-down fronts, meaning five defensive linemen in the game along the line of scrimmage instead of the typical four. That switch yielded solid results for Dallas’ pass rush as the unit collectively tied the team’s single-game high in sacks with five against Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett, something the Cowboys also accomplished in Week 5 against Jets quarterback Justin Fields. Those five-down packages will be the primary way for Dallas to make sure all three of Williams, Clark and Odighizuwa get the level of playtime all three have become accustomed to.

“Again, think you guys saw last night, some of the things we were able to do from the five-down stuff that we played. I thought that was very good for us. The first down efficiency was one of our best of the year, and you can never have enough depth at the interior part of the defensive line. But we’ll roll those guys through. We’ll stay fresh,” Schottenheimer said. “But again, I do think you’ll see us continue to use a five-down front. We liked some of the things. Thought Osa played his best game of the year. Most disruptive game last night. That was great to see.”

One of the primary drivers for five-down fronts is to dissuade opposing offensive lines from double-teaming the defense’s interior players. Williams (57 quarterback pressures vs. double teams since 2022) and Odighizuwa (53 quarterback pressures vs. double teams since 2022) are No. 1 and No. 2 in the NFL in quarterback pressures vs. double teams across the last three seasons, per Next Gen Stats. Those two each seeing fewer and fewer double teams should yield dividends for Dallas’ defense now that they are teammates.

“I hope so. I like it,” Odighizuwa said when asked about playing more five-down fronts. “A lot of double teams are created when you have four [defensive linemen] down [on the line of scrimmage. So when you have the three of us in there, it kind of creates a lot more one-on-ones and a lot more opportunity for guys up front to make plays. Having a guy like that come in and potentially be able to use more five-down stuff, that would be awesome.”

While Williams occasionally lined up on the edge of the line of scrimmage in New York, Dallas sees him as exclusively an interior player even among Clark and Odighizuwa, shining in one-gap and two-gap blocking schemes.

FRISCO, Texas – Sometimes you get what you ask for. Logan Wilson must feel that way, as the Cowboys’ new linebacker arrived to The Star after being traded by the Bengals.

Unsatisfied with his playing time and his role during his sixth pro season, Wilson publicly asked for a trade from the team that drafted him in the third round back in 2020.

Wilson got his wish and was sent to Dallas, where he calls a “fresh start” for not only himself but his family.

“Cincinnati will forever hold a special place in my heart and for everything that we accomplished there,” he said. “But, I’m excited for a new beginning, a fresh start. I’m excited to be here.”

Before Wilson even landed in Dallas, his excitement likely grew even more when he learned of the trade for Jets DT Quinnen Williams, who should help free up the linebackers even more to make plays.

And making plays is one of the traits Wilson used to describe his playing style when asked to give a self scouting report.

“Tough physical, hard nose attitude,” Wilson said. “Try to find a way to make plays on the ball and get the ball back to our offense.”

Jerry Jones has been aggressive in the past. Firing Tom Landry and trading Herschel Walker in the span of eight months in 1989 certainly put him in that category from the get-go.

But fast-forward 36 years later to 2025, and Jones is testing even some of his most aggressive moves in his time as the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, even if most of the past quarter-century has seen him remain mostly tempered in his transactional approach.

“I have a natural urgency because of my age,” Jones said.

At 83, Jones knows he doesn’t have the luxury of time like he once had. It’s not to be ominous, it’s more about his realistic view on life. Ahead of a busy trade deadline on Tuesday that saw Dallas unload a cache of premier draft capital to acquire three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, Jones spoke on 105.3 The Fan about the time he has left and the desire for results now.

“My immediate tomorrows are a big thing to me,” he said.

In 2025, that urgency has included a trade for Williams, trading away pass rusher Micah Parsons for two first-round picks and trading for wide receiver George Pickens, among other uncharacteristic moves in comparison to how the Cowboys’ front office has operated for the past decade.

In an effort to improve immediate results at the expense of a good amount of future draft capital, Jones has finally followed through on the “all-in” promise from 2024.