Dallas Cowboys rookie Sam Williams: 'I'm just thankful that I'm still here'

Following a side-swipe incident that left his Corvette Z06 totaled, Dallas Cowboys rookie defensive end Sam Williams missed the team’s Saturday showdown versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

Although he suffered bruises and a concussion from the crash, and the ensuing airbag deployment, Williams is back on the mend and trending toward a full recovery. He told reporters on Monday after his return to The Star that he is just thankful to be alive.

“My first thing was like, ‘Thank you God,'” Williams said. “It could’ve been worse. I was thinking about my son a lot, and his mom. I could’ve been gone that fast, without seeing them to say goodbye… I was going home to them — like five or six minutes from my house.”

Williams’ crash, coming just three days before the Christmas holiday, made the former Ole Miss star particularly gracious and introspective. His advice after going through the ordeal is to celebrate life – and bury any lingering animosities.

“I look back over it and I’m just thankful for life,” Williams continued. “And Christmas was [near] and the biggest gift we have is life. You never know so I encourage everyone to hug your loved ones. Any dispute you have with family members, anything, just end it because you never know when that day is, and me going through that, I called my mama and family members — everybody to check on them.

“That was an accident, but there are more things going on in the world and I’m just thankful that I’m still here. You’re looking at the [totaled] car like, man, but God works in mysterious ways. I know He has something in store for me.”

Cowboys push past Eagles without Williams

Due to his concussion, Williams was a limited participant in the Cowboys’ team walkthrough on Monday. Head coach Mike McCarthy shared that the edge rusher would be a full participant on Tuesday.

So far this season, the Montgomery, Alabama native has 20 tackles in 13 games played. He also has three sacks and eight tackles for loss, which is tied for third among Dallas’s top pass rushers.

Dallas beat the Eagles 40-34 on Saturday without their rookie second-round pick or former first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch on the defense. The win kept their NFC East title hopes alive, although the Eagles need to lose their two remaining matchups to ultimately lose their top seed.

Dallas is on the road for the final two games of the season. On Thursday, they meet the Tennessee Titans on their turf before traveling to D.C. to face the Commanders on Jan. 8. The Titans currently own a five-game losing streak, which is their longest since 2015.