Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams arrested on substance, weapon charges

Second-year Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams was arrested Sunday night, one day after he played in the team's preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, and charged with possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying of a weapon.

A spokesperson from the Frisco (Texas) Police Department confirmed the arrest Wednesday to USA TODAY Sports in an email and said the controlled substance charge was for alleged possession of THC, not marijuana.

Through a spokesman, the Cowboys declined to comment but said "the organization is aware and addressing with Sam directly while the legal process continues."

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram was the first to report the news of Williams' arrest.

On Saturday night, Williams, 24, appeared in Dallas' 22-14 loss against the Seahawks in Seattle, recording two tackles and one sack. The team flew back to the Dallas area early Sunday morning.

Williams is set to enter his second season in the NFL after he played 15 games for the Cowboys in 2022 as a backup defensive end. He posted 22 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, four sacks, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He missed one game for precautionary reasons after he was involved in a car crash that briefly sent him to the hospital.

According to the Star-Telegram, Plano (Texas) Police cited Williams with misdemeanor reckless driving after he allegedly was driving up to 98 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone.

The Cowboys selected Williams in the second round, No. 56 overall, of the 2022 NFL draft. He came into the league with off-field questions, after he was suspended at Ole Miss in July 2020 after being charged with sexual battery. Williams was reinstated two months later after the charge was dropped.

"The risks or the kinds of things that you should have been looking for 20, 30 years ago, you’re not even turning the lights on if you don’t look for that," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said of Williams in April 2022 after the team drafted him. "To sum it up, I’m confident when we know about a young man today coming in here that, boy, we’ve covered the ground and we’ve got it all out there. After having seen it all out there, we drafted Sam. And I’m confident we’ve got everything."

Williams was expected to continue to contribute to the Cowboy pass rush in 2023, playing behind starters Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.

Contributing: Associated Press