Cowboys free agency 2022: Guard Connor Williams signing 2-year, $14M deal with Miami Dolphins

The legal tampering window is fully open in the National Football League and it is being filled with all sorts of free agents.

Tuesday was busy for the Dallas Cowboys as they brought back defenders Malik Hooker and Randy Gregory. Keeping them around is huge for the defensive side of the ball which will likely suffer some sort of regression in 2022, but focus is starting to shift towards offense.

Dallas traded away Amari Cooper over the weekend and looks like they are about through with La’el Collins. That is two starters on offense that need to be replaced this offseason and now there is a third name on that list.

Connor Williams is officially headed to the Miami Dolphins

While he fell way out of favor with Cowboys fans, the reality is that Connor Williams began last season as the starter on the team at left guard. He was called for a lot (being kind) of penalties and saw the team flip-flop with him and Connor McGovern over the course of the season.

We spoke recently here at BTB about how some might have been slightly undervaluing Williams’ role on the team. If you felt like Dallas is better off without him then you got your wish as he is headed to the Miami Dolphins.

That is a lower level deal for Williams but obviously more than the Cowboys were willing to pay, especially given that Dallas may wind up selecting one of the draft’s top guards if things fall their way in the first round. Williams is the second former Cowboy to wind up in Miami since they agreed to terms with Cedrick Wilson on Monday.

The Cowboys drafted Williams in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft and got a viable starter for the duration of his time with the team. There were some lower moments than others and it is unfortunate that he is not sticking around with better play. He may wind up netting them a compensatory pick in 2023 when it is all said and done.