Dallas Cowboys to host four edge rushers for workouts after Sam Williams' ACL tear

Following the ACL tear of backup DE Sam Williams this week, the Dallas Cowboys are bringing four defenders in for workouts on Thursday. The team is searching for pieces to bring in to add depth at the position that is now lacking behind starters Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.

Dallas will host former Chargers LB Justin Hollins, former Jets DE Carl Lawson, former Bears DE Al-Quadin Muhammad and former Commanders DE Shaka Toney. Muhammad and Toney did not suit up for teams in the regular season last year after playing almost every game in 2022, however, Lawson and Hollins were active for their respective teams.

Following a trade from the Packers, Hollins played seven games for the Chargers, tallying eight tackles with one sack last season. He’s a former fifth-round pick out of Oregon and 2024 will be his sixth season in the league.

Lawson, a former fourth-rounder out of Auburn, last played a full 17 games in 2022 for the Jets. That season, he had seven sacks, bringing his six-year NFL total up to 27 sacks with 9.5 tackles for loss. He began his career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Muhammad started out with the Saints after they drafted him in the sixth round out of Miami. However, his stint there was brief, and he played out his rookie contract with the Colts. In six seasons, he’s had 157 tackles with 12 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss. He was suspended last season for violating the PED policy.

Toney, the youngest of the group, was a seventh-round draft pick for the Commanders out of Penn State. He had eight tackles as a rookie while playing in 10 games. In 2022, he posted another eight tackles in 16 games played. In April of 2023, he received a one-season suspension for violating the league’s policy on gambling.

Cowboys rookie ready to step up

Dallas Cowboys rookie Marshawn Kneeland saw his importance to the defense rise exponentially this week after defensive end Sam Williams went down in training camp. The veteran’s season-ending injury bumps Kneeland up on the depth chart, and though he’s not happy to see his teammate suffer, he is eager to prove what he can do at the NFL level.

A standout at Western Michigan coming into the draft, Kneeland wasn’t one of the more talked about prospects this year. And yet, the Cowboys spent their No. 56 overall pick in the second round on him. He believes they made the right choice and now, with Williams’ injury, he’ll be able to show it in Year 1.

“I got to step up. I got to be ready to play that much more,” Kneeland said at camp on Wednesday, via Jon Machota. “… With (Williams) here, obviously, I was still playing a good amount, but now it’s that much more reps I have to take. I just got to step it up a notch.”

“(I want to show) I can pass rush too,” he added. “… Not just doing that in the MAC. I can do that here too.”

Kneeland had a career-high 57 tackles this past season at WMU along with 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. In four seasons, he had 28.0 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. He also blocked a kick as a redshirt sophomore.