Cowboys’ Sam Williams arrested: Mike McCarthy believes in DE, says he ‘needs to slow down and he knows that’

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams was arrested on Sunday by Frisco police on charges of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying of a weapon, per The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The controlled substance possession is a low-level felony in the state of Texas while the unlawful carrying of a weapon is a misdemeanor offense, per Frisco Police Department. 

Williams recorded two tackles and a sack in Dallas’ 22-14 preseason loss at the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night, and he flew back with the team Sunday morning. The 2022 second-round pick practiced Tuesday night during the Cowboys’ first training camp practice back home in Frisco after most of the last few weeks in Oxnard, California. 

This latest run-in with the law isn’t Williams’ first while representing the Silver and Blue. He was part of a two-car accident last December, which led to an arrest warrant. His car was totaled, and both he and the other vehicle’s driver spent a short amount of time in the hospital without serious injuries. After Williams suffered a concussion and a neck strain from the crash, the Cowboys held him out of their Week 16 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Per Plano, Texas police, via The Dallas Morning News, Williams was speeding up to 98 miles per hour in an area where the speed limit was 55 miles per hour, bobbing and weaving through traffic before the collision. 

He also dealt with a suspension back in college at the University of Mississippi after being charged with sexual battery. Williams was able to rejoin the team two months later following the charges being dropped. 

“I had a chance to visit with Sam, he knows what he needs to do, we all can do better,” Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday. “I believe in Sam Williams. I obviously did when we drafted him and even more so now. I’ve seen him grow in so many different ways. He needs to slow down. He knows that. That’s the first step.”

This most recent arrest puts Williams in position to be in violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, meaning he could be fined or suspension.

“I’m confident that we know about the young man coming in here, that we’ve covered the ground and we’ve got it all out there,” Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on draft night in 2022, via The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “After having seen it all out there, we drafted Sam, and I’m confident we got everything.”