Sam Williams suffers shoulder injury on first day of Cowboys' padded practices

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams suffered a shoulder injury on the first day of the team’s padded practices at training camp on Monday, according to Dallas Morning News‘ Michael Gehlken. A source described the injury as a “shoulder strain.”

Reporters saw Williams talking to the trainer early during the practice on Monday before he left the field for the locker room.

At this point, it’s unclear how long the injury will keep the former Ole Miss star off of the field.

Williams has massive goals for himself entering his second year in the league.

“I need 10 sacks,” Williams said at OTAs, via DallasCowboys.com. “Ten sacks will open up a lot of opportunities for me. Obviously, the team goal is to win a championship, but my personal goal and what I’m working towards is getting better with my hands, and I need 10 sacks.”

Selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Williams had 22 tackles with four sacks and 10 tackles for loss last season. A car crash late in the season that involved reckless driving took some shine away from his resume but the former Ole Miss star put his head down and got back to work.

Williams aiming for breakout second season

Defensive line coach Aden Durde is seeing the fruits of Williams’ offseason labor already.

“You can see that he’s learned how to develop himself, and that’s not to say that we don’t develop them, but the biggest jump for Sam is he’s becoming a true professional,” Durde said ahead of camp. “I see the work that he puts in and the structure that he’s put in off of the field.

“He comes in and you see his flexibility has changed, his coordination has changed, his stance is better. The things he’s needed to work on, he’s gone out and worked on and improved. I’m excited for him.”

Last week, Williams made headlines when he surprised radio hosts by admitting he didn’t realize until recently that select players have headsets in their helmets to hear calls from the coordinators. His admission served to demonstrate how much more he has to learn about the game and how far he still is from his ceiling.

More sacks could be on the way for Williams, especially as the Cowboys move Micah Parsons around more in 2023. Parsons told fans he’s ready to play up to eight different spots on the field in an attempt to open up opportunities for other players, like Williams.