The Dallas Cowboys have 22 players (UFA/RFA) who will officially hit the open market in under a month. Today, we continue our series examining each of the Cowboys’ impending free agents, reviewing their 2025 campaign and predicting what will be next for each player.
We continue our free agent profile series by taking a look at our third offensive player, Javontae Williams.
2025 Regular Season Stats: 16G, 252 Rushing Attempts, 1,201 Rushing Yards, 4.8 Y/A, 67 First Downs Rushing, 56.3% Success Rate, 13 Total Touchdowns
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Year Review: Coming into the 2025 regular season, running back was arguably one of the Cowboys’ weakest position groups. After letting Rico Dowdle leave in free agency, Dallas did not have a proven commodity set to replace the 1,000-yard rusher.
Desperate to find someone to fill the starting running back role, the Cowboys took a chance on Javonte Williams, hoping the former Bronco still had some juice left in the tank. To the surprise of many, Williams turned out to be Dallas’ most productive signing of the offseason as the running back posted a career year in his first season as a Cowboy.
In 16 games, Williams finished in the top 12 in the league in rushing yards (1,201), rushing touchdowns (11), Y/A (4.8), and PFF rush grade (81.7). Williams also posted career-highs in first downs rushing (67) and 10+ yard runs (26), looking even better than he did during his impressive rookie year back in 2021.
All in all, Williams had about as good a 2025 campaign as you could have imagined. The 25-year-old running back set himself up for a nice payday as he is set to hit the open market fresh off a career year.
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Free Agency Outlook: Williams big year will likely earn him plenty of potential suitors when free agency officially opens in mid-March. One thing that could negatively affect the 25-year-old’s potential market is the number of capable running backs set to hit free agency this spring.
Rico Dowdle, Travis Etienne, Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, and Rachaad White are all set to become free agents at the start of the new league year, giving teams plenty of options if they are looking for a starting-caliber runner. Of the group, Spotrac projects Williams to earn the fourth-highest AAV, setting his market value at a three-year deal worth just over $22M.
Looking back at free agent running back contracts in recent years, $7M seems like a reasonable expectation as to what it will cost to acquire Williams services. Back in 2024, Aaron Jones, Tony Pollard, and D’Andre Swift all signed deals totaling anywhere from $7-$8M AAV. The deal Williams signs this spring will almost certainly follow suit.
Cowboys Verdict: The Cowboys have not been shy about their interest in bringing Williams back to Dallas. At the end of the regular season, Stephen Jones confirmed the Cowboys had already been in contact with Williams’ representatives, hoping to sign the running back to a multi-year deal.
Whether or not Williams is back in Dallas will likely come down to just how much the Cowboys want to avoid pressing restart at the running back position for the second-straight year. With so many needs to address elsewhere on their roster, the Cowboys would put themselves in the best position to succeed if they could retain Williams on a somewhat fair deal ($6-7M AAV), letting them not have to worry about the running back position the rest of the spring.
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If someone is willing to offer Williams a deal that the Cowboys are not comfortable matching, there are plenty of replacement options in free agency. But with how well he performed last season and just how good a fit he is in Dallas’s offensive scheme, it makes too much sense for both sides for a reunion not to happen.
Prediction: Javonte Williams signs a three-year, $22M deal with the Dallas Cowboys.
How would you feel about spending that kind of money on Williams?
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