Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has long been lauded as an NFL genius. And Dallas Cowboys fans had to sit there and take that as their NFC East rivals made postseason after postseason and even earned a Super Bowl ring along the way. But those days are coming to an end.
Jerry Jones and Brian Schottenheimer came to play this offseason, and their savvy Quinnen Williams extension is the latest example of this. Somehow, the Cowboys got Williams for a fraction of the cost that the Eagles paid for Jalen Carter. Spoiler alert: Williams is arguably still the better player.
Not only did Dallas get this done, but it made a myriad of other moves that massively benefitted it, while Philadelphia pretty much tanked the offseason. Let's dive into why the Williams deal is much better than Carter's, and why the Cowboys ran laps around the Eagles this offseason.
Cowboys' Quinnen Williams deal is latest thing to hold over Eagles' heads
Carter reset the defensive tackle market this offseason with a staggering four-year, $152 million deal that is worth up to $160 million. That $38 million annual price tag is almost $3 million more per year than the next-highest-paid defensive tackle. Carter isn't head-and-shoulders above his peers.
Williams, however, at a new AAV of $30 million, is getting paid well below market value. Yes, Carter is three years younger, but he also comes with off-the-field concerns that Williams simply doesn't. And the numbers that matter don't even support the notion that Carter is the better player right now.
Conveniently, Williams and Carter played 640 and 639 defensive snaps last year, respectively, so this is a fair comparison, despite the discrepancy in the number of games played.
Stats/Game (2025) | Quinnen Williams | Jalen Carter |
|---|---|---|
Run Stops | 35 | 17 |
Pressures | 51 | 41 |
Pass-Rush Win Rate | 19.6% | 11.8% |
Pass Rush Wins (since '23) | 108 | 99 |
Tackles | 53 | 41 |
TFLs | 10 | 5 |
Sacks | 2.5 | 3.0 |
Even if we call these numbers close or a wash, the Cowboys win by having the cheaper player. And that is not the only place that Dallas has made up ground on Philadelphia this offseason; Jones has been outdoing Roseman since free agency.
Jones bucked the trend by bringing in veteran Jalen Thompson on a big deal, and he signed solid players like P.J. Locke, Cobie Durant, Sam Howell, and Otito Ogbonnia to team-friendly deals. The Eagles' biggest move on the open market? Re-signing punter Braden Mann.
Yes, they also signed Riq Woolen, which is a great addition, and they traded for Jonathan Greenard and Dontayvion Wicks. But they traded A.J. Brown and drafted Makai Lemon, who isn't exactly impressing in the early going.
Philadelphia also bled talent like Jaelan Phillips, Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship in free agency. It is hard to argue that the Eagles have gotten better this offseason, while it is nearly impossible to argue that Dallas hasn't.
Williams landing a significantly cheaper deal than Carter to have effectively the same impact, if not a bigger one, is just the latest example. And who knows, that may lead to the Cowboys being able to keep two star receivers on the roster, which Philadelphia couldn't do.
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