With the Dallas Cowboys opting to place Terrance Williams on injured reserve, has the six-year wide receiver played his last game for America’s Team?
The Dallas Cowboys receiver corps has been a hot topic for America’s Team throughout the offseason and into the regular one. The release of longtime veteran wideout Dez Bryant back in April spark a lingering question about the receiver corps effectiveness without a true number one.
Through the first four games of the season, the questions surrounding this group have only intensified. Veteran receiver Cole Beasley currently leads the unit in catches with 16 receptions for 185 yards. But it’s running back Ezekiel Elliott that actually leads the team in targets with 22, one more than Beasley.
Receivers like free agent signee Allen Hurns and rookie Michael Gallup have underwhelmed through the first quarter of the season. Neither has been targeted more than seven times, with Hurns only catching 50 percent of this targets. Gallup has a worse catch rate of 41.7 percent, with one of his drops resulting in an interception.
But the biggest surprise is likely the poor play of sixth-year wide receiver Terrance Williams. A former third-round selection out of Baylor back in 2013, T-Will seemed to the one most likely to benefit from Bryant’s release as the team’s longtime number two receiver.
But Williams suffered a broken foot in the offseason that required surgery. He was also arrested in a bizarre incident following a mysterious late-night car accident. Williams was charged with public intoxication and leaving the scene of an accident.
Despite rumors of a possible looming suspension, Williams did play in the Cowboys first three games of the season. He recorded just two receptions on three targets for a total of 18 yards. Williams did not play in Week Four due to a foot injury and undisclosed off-the-field issues.
According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the Cowboys have now opted to place Williams on Injured Reserve (Reserve/Injured). Dallas does have the option of bringing two players back from IR, making Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts the earliest Williams could return to play for the team. But due to his poor play, off-field issues and an overload of receiver talent, it seems unlikely Dallas would do so.
In fact, Williams may have played his final game in Dallas already. Under contract through 2020, some believed the 29-year old receiver would have been released this offseason if not for the fact it would have cost the team money in order to do so. Just last year Williams signed a four-year, $17 million contract with $9.5 million guaranteed and a $5 million signing bonus.
In 2017, Terrance Williams recorded a career-high 53 receptions for 568 yards. But he also failed to score a single touchdown for the first time in his professional career.