The Dallas Cowboys have signed four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to a three-year, $105.9 million contract extension, according to a team source. Dallas acquired Williams from the New York Jets in a blockbuster deal ahead of last year’s trade deadline.

This extension was expected. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones has been open about wanting to get a deal done with Williams since camp started. Williams’ agent, Nicole Lynn, attended practice Saturday, making it seem like an extension could be near.

“He’s a great player and one of the hardest practicing guys out there,” Jones said Monday. “Every time he lines up, you feel him. He doesn’t take anything for granted. He doesn’t say, ‘Hey, I got this. I’ll let my play do the talking.’ You see it.

“He’s the best player on the field whenever he’s out there. The other thing is is just what a man he is. He’s a leader. We didn’t have a lot of leadership on defense for the last couple of years. To have him and Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary. I think they really picked it up over there in terms of the culture and the leadership.”

Williams is the centerpiece of what should be a much improved defensive unit. The Cowboys look at Williams as more than just an outstanding player, he’s also a team leader. He’s on the leadership council and has his locker next to Dak Prescott’s in the middle of the locker room.

Williams had two years remaining on the four-year, $96 million contract extension he signed before the 2023 season.

“We want Quinnen here for the long haul,” Jones said two weeks ago. “Obviously we’ve got a lot of resources tied up in him, and he knows what we think about him. We’ve had some discussions with the agent about how to go about the process, but certainly he’s one of the best in the business, and we know kind of what that market is.”

Williams said two weeks ago that Dallas is “for sure” where he wants to be for the long term.

“Especially being here with these guys,” he added. “You’ve got a phenomenal group, a phenomenal staff; organization-wise, it’s unbelievable. And then having guys that you can call and lean on, like DeMarcus Ware is one of my guys, it’s unbelievable.

“I’m not really focused on no contract. I definitely would enjoy and love being here for the long haul, but I want to win, and that’s kind of the only thing I’m really focused on is winning and getting this defense into the groove where we can win football games.”

“He’s an incredible teammate,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “He’s one of the most humble superstars I’ve ever been around. He truly is. I think being in New York and unfortunately not being a part of playoff teams, he’s to the point in his career where it’s not about money, it’s not about sacks, it’s about wins. And I love that because when you combine that with certain guys like Dak Prescott and other players, that’s what they want to lead the league in is wins. And he’s just an awesome family man. Great teammate, but the player speaks for itself.”

Williams, the No. 3 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, spent the first 6.5 seasons of his career with the Jets and was named to Pro Bowls from 2022 to 2025. He was also a first-team All-Pro selection in 2022 after finishing with 12 sacks and 12 tackles for loss.

He played in seven games for the Cowboys last season and finished with 1.5 sacks, 21 tackles, three tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits.

Highmark Stadium went live Saturday night with the annual Blue and Red open practice, and there seem to be as many opinions about the new building as there were fans in the stands and cars in the parking lots.

I spent most of my time at the Buffalo Bills’ annual Blue and Red practice talking to fans on the concourses, and they were unanimously ecstatic about the $2.2 billion project that included $850 million in public funding.

One season-ticket holder, Mike Dolan from the Northtowns, said he woke up Saturday morning feeling “like a kid on Christmas” because he knew he would finally get to see the new stadium and find out where his seats are.

“I’m not going to lie. I had to hold back happy tears on the way in,” Rochester native Laren Hettler said. “I got a little too emotional at just the excitement. I’m sad that the old stadium is gone, but we have this. It’s just overwhelming.”

But as the night went on, unanimous praise began to splinter. Social media was awash with photos of complaints about this and that. Photos of seats with obstructed views were jarring.

One side-by-side showed the rendering the fan said they were sold and the actual seat that was obstructed. The public-address system was unintelligible. The scoreboards are too small. Then the rain started to fall, and fans who thought they would be protected by the canopy — which was advertised to cover around 65 percent of the seats — got drenched.

I didn’t witness any of these negative experiences firsthand, but there’s plenty of evidence that new Highmark Stadium’s reveal wasn’t an undisputed success. I asked fellow Bills beat writer Joe Buscaglia what his first impressions were as he and I discussed the Bills’ new home venue.

Buscaglia: I took some time ahead of the practice to give myself a little tour and get familiarized with the surroundings, both from a fan and media perspective. The first thing that stood out, just from walking in and around the stadium, was that some of the concourses and the way it was built reminded me a bit of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. There are certainly Buffalo touches throughout, and things that make it unique compared to that building, though. Some of the touches are pretty cool, to be honest.

Graham: Wasn’t this supposed to look like Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? I sensed a Meadowlands vibe as well, particularly in the press box. Nobody wants to hear praise or complaints from the media about how we live on game day. Still, my overall take on the press box was that the view is similar to the Jets’ and Giants’ — better than most newer stadiums, but in general it felt like an average NFL press box. Much nicer than what we had at The Ralph, though.

Buscaglia: Yeah, I quite liked the spot up in the press box. It gave me an All-22 coaches film vibe, and I’m into that. Here’s a cool little feature up there. They put in mechanical windows near the top of some of the glass, so that way we can hear the natural roar of the stadium sound. Little touches like that make it a bit different.

Other than the media side, I made it a point to find my way up behind the main scoreboard to the opening on the lakeside of the stadium by the 300s. It has a view of downtown Buffalo off in the distance, and you can look down and see some of the area surrounding the stadium and the family circle area, with those massive bison visible from pretty far away. I haven’t seen anything quite like that at an NFL stadium before. It’s a viewpoint worth checking out if you make it to the stadium. I do wonder, though, what that opening is going to be like when the wind and snow start whipping around Orchard Park as it always does. What stood out most to you, Tim?

A view of the new Highmark Stadium’s Family Circle off in the distance, featuring the steel bison statues that greets fans. (Joe Buscaglia / The Athletic)

Graham: I loved the Western New York touches throughout the building, whether it was the public art in the M&T Bank Lounge or the neighborhood nods at the different concession stands. But based on some of the negative experiences and worries fans expressed about what they paid for through PSLs and face-value tickets, I’m starting to wonder if the Bills paid too much attention to the cute little details and not enough to the baseline experience. The big picture — quite literally the one scoreboard — was not a very big picture at all. I’ve also heard concerns about wind in the concourses, which construction workers have been whispering about for the past year. They say the wind howls through there. Much was made about the new Highmark Stadium being weatherproof, but the wind and rain already seem like issues. Maybe they won’t be on the field, which is what some of the technology was meant to address, but the fans endured Saturday night.

Buscaglia: How it responds to the different weather elements, all around, will be one of my biggest questions. But until we get there, I do have to compliment them for the level of efficiency in getting around the stadium. Everything inside the facilities has a pretty direct path to where you want to go, and that is a massive improvement over the last stadium. For instance, just from the media side, we walk in the door, and the elevator to where we need to get to is there and as easy as can be. At the old Highmark Stadium, each media person would need to go down a few levels on a staircase and play Frogger through a wave of exiting fans before traversing down more stairs to get down to the main tunnel for post-game stuff. By the NFL’s scope, it was kind of unheard of — so much so that I took a video of the entire thing in the stadium finale last year to fondly remember its ridiculousness. It was a great workout if you did it quickly enough. So, to me, the streamlining was really noticeable.

Graham: I heard some complaints from fans about the lack of escalators to take them to the upper levels, but I’m going to chalk that up — for now — to familiarizing themselves with a roughly 1.6 million-square-foot venue. The Ralph was so spartan that you knew your exact gate from street level and walked straight to your seat, or at least its vicinity, before you began wading through hordes of revelers of various consciousness, standing in endless lines for the restroom or concessions. I’m sure that within a few weeks, the new Highmark Stadium citizenry will have mastered routines like the backs of their double-fisted, beer-holding hands.

Buscaglia: Yeah, everyone will have their own special route to their seats before long, just like everyone has their own route to get down to the stadium that resides right near some neighborhoods. I do want to give them credit for bringing in some really local food and dessert options. It’s really difficult when you have a stadium that cost over $2 billion, and that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in Buffalo and its surrounding areas, to push forward the local charm that existed within their last place. Bringing in local vendors really helps that piece of the puzzle, even if the stadium has more of a corporate feel than many are used to.

All in all, I think it was a good debut for the new home of the Bills. Now we’ll see how gameday operations go on Saturday, when the Bills take on the Carolina Panthers in the first preseason game in the history of new Highmark Stadium.

See you there, TG.

HENDERSON, Nev. — Jermod McCoy said his emotions are already welling up before the Las Vegas Raiders’ preseason opener Thursday night. The matchup with the Arizona Cardinals will be the rookie cornerback’s first game since Dec. 21, 2024; soon, a nearly 20-month hiatus from competitive football will be over.

McCoy missed the entirety of his final collegiate season at Tennessee after tearing his ACL during an offseason workout in January 2025. While he fully recovered from the injury, a cartilage issue in his knee had teams concerned about his short- and long-term health. Those worries forced a fall to the fourth round for a perceived first-round talent in April’s NFL Draft.

McCoy, who spoke to reporters Monday for the first time since the Raiders selected him 101st, said he never had any doubts that he would be able to play this year. But he said taking the field at Allegiant Stadium for the first time will mean something extra because of his journey.

“I’m gonna just look around, take it all in,” McCoy said. “Just remember at any point, this game can be taken from you. So just always cherishing these moments.”

The Raiders have been managing McCoy’s knee since he arrived in Las Vegas, holding him out for the majority of their offseason program and one training camp practice so far. He said he is feeling good, however, and has been able to surpass the initial restrictions the team placed on his workload.

“I was on a little limit, but I’ve been able to exceed that,” McCoy said. “It’s been going real good for me.”

Aside from sitting out the team’s session Thursday, McCoy has participated in every competitive drill the Raiders have run during training camp. The corner has worked predominantly with the second and third teams in team periods and has gotten sporadic reps against the first-team offense. McCoy had some early rookie mistakes, which he acknowledged probably occurred because of rust. But he found his footing after a few practices and has looked solid in coverage since.

“I made a few plays and I felt real good,” McCoy said. “I was like, ‘OK, it’s ball again.’”

McCoy has shown a few flashes of why his talent is so highly regarded. Some tight coverage during one-on-ones and forced incompletions in team periods were reminiscent of his All-American campaign in 2024, when he had four interceptions and 13 passes defended for the Volunteers. McCoy said he has not quite returned to that level just yet, but he feels like he’s “almost there.” He credits Raiders wellness coordinator Alex Guerrero and the team’s training staff for helping him get to this point.

“From the day I came in until now, just the way I feel is just so much better,” McCoy said. “(Guerrero), all the guys in there, I just feel like they’ve been pouring into me. They done got me right.”

Through all the turbulence of the past few months, McCoy said he has tried to keep a level head. He learned to tune out the noise and focus on himself. But he said he couldn’t help it if his draft experience created a chip on his shoulder.

“That’s something that will be with me forever,” McCoy said. “I’m always gonna remember it. It’s gonna keep fueling me to push forward.”

McCoy will get his first chance to use that chip Thursday.

Cousins comes back strong

Quarterback Kirk Cousins and edge Maxx Crosby returned to team action Monday after being held out of Saturday’s practice by Klint Kubiak. The coach said their altercation Friday violated the team’s expectations and their actions deserved punishment.

Crosby remained disruptive in his return, causing pressure against the pass and blowing up an Ashton Jeanty run in the backfield. Cousins also shined, putting together one of his best practices as a Raider thus far.

The soon-to-be 38-year-old was dialed in from the jump. On his first throw of the day, he fired a touchdown pass to tight end Brock Bowers during a red zone team period. As the Raiders transitioned to move-the-ball periods, Cousins stayed strong. He audibled to a quick screen to receiver Dareke Young that went for big yards and let out a loud celebration afterward. Big plays to Bowers and receiver Tre Tucker came on ensuing snaps, and Cousins also connected with rookie receiver Malik Benson for an acrobatic reception down the sideline for a big gain.

Cousins’ best period was the team’s last. He commanded a two-minute drill down the field, finding Bowers and Tucker for chunk plays. Cousins then threaded a ball through three defenders to connect with receiver Jalen Nailor in the end zone.

While Kubiak said he is not married to Cousins starting the season at quarterback over No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza, he has consistently stated that Cousins was brought to Las Vegas to play high-level football. Cousins has done that so far in training camp, and he continues to look like the team’s QB1.

Revolving rookies

Monday’s practice saw two of the Raiders’ standout draft picks at different spots. Offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III worked exclusively at center with the second team, and cornerback Hezekiah Masses took some reps in the slot with the first team.

Zuhn began training camp working at center with the twos and right guard with the threes. But since the fourth practice, the third-round pick had been playing predominantly right tackle with the second team. Monday was the first time in a week that he played an interior position.

Kubiak and his staff have made it clear that Zuhn’s versatility was a big reason they drafted him 91st. He played both left tackle and center for Texas A&M in his five college seasons, winning the Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the SEC while playing both in 2025. The Raiders have used Zuhn exclusively on the right side and at center while moving him around. The rookie admitted the changes have been a challenge, but he is confident in his abilities to handle them.

“Whatever the team needs, I’m gonna be able to do,” Zuhn said. “I just have to lock in and be at that position because I’ve learned the playbook from a whole, so I know what everybody is doing. I just have to lock into the specific technique, and it’s becoming easier and easier every single day.”

Masses has impressed since arriving in Las Vegas as a fifth-round pick and earned opportunities because of it, battling Darien Porter for the team’s second starting corner position. But on Monday, he played in the slot at times, sharing the field with Porter and top corner Eric Stokes on the outside. It was the first time Masses got interior snaps as a Raider.

Masses played mostly outside corner in his All-ACC season with Cal last year, so Monday was a newer experience for him overall, not just in the NFL. But he has already looked like one of Las Vegas’ better defenders in the back end, and getting him, Stokes and Porter on the field together probably creates the Raiders’ best coverage unit. While it may be unfamiliar for the rookie, Masses is ready to tackle anything right now with the way he is playing.

“Yeah, I’m in that zone, 100 percent,” Masses said. “I’m just out there making plays and being myself. They’re calling great calls, and I’m just out there executing.”