Cowboys rookie ready to step up after devastating Sam Williams injury

Dallas Cowboys rookie defensive end Marshawn Kneeland says he's ready to step up

OXNARD, CA - JULY 25: Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (94) walks on the field during the team's training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields on July 25, 2024 in Oxnard, CA. / (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

It's an unfortunate fact of life in the NFL that every team and every player has a 100% injury rate. In other words, no matter how lucky you are, eventually everybody gets hurt. The Dallas Cowboys suffered a pretty serious injury a couple of days ago when defensive end Sam Williams was carted off the field with what turned out to be a torn ACL, ending his 2024 NFL season before it began.

Losing Williams is a devastating blow for the Dallas edge rotation, which consists of Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and a bunch of question marks. The Cowboys have to hope that one of their backups is ready to fulfill the old next-man-up mentality.

Enter rookie defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who was picked by Dallas in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft at 56th overall. For his part Kneeland says that he's ready to step up, per Jon Machota at The Athletic.

“I got to step up. I got to be ready to play that much more. … 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. I’m not just doing that in the MAC. I can do that here too.”

Now he'll be forced to sink or swim. During his time at Western Michigan Kneeland totaled 13 sacks and 27.5 tackles for a loss. Here's his highlight reel from the 2023 season.

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