The Denver Broncos chose to move on.
Javonte Williams had been so promising early in his career, but injuries seemingly sapped him of some of his ability.
So in free agency, the Broncos didn't bring Williams back, and he signed with the Dallas Cowboys.
There's a chance it works out nicely for Dallas and not as nicely for Denver.
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Why didn't the Broncos keep Javonte Williams?
Ineffectiveness after injury had made Javonte Williams seem expendable for the Denver Broncos.
He sustained a serious knee injury in 2022 (ACL, LCL tears), and he wasn't quite the same after that.
Williams had run for 903 yards (4.4 ypc) as a rookie, but his yards per carry after the injury were 3.6 in 2023 and 3.7 in 2024. He just wasn't the same RB.
The Broncos chose to get two new running backs, J.K. Dobbins in free agency and RJ Harvey in the second round of the draft out of UCF.
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Why did the Cowboys sign Javonte Williams?
Javonte Williams was a dice roll by the Dallas Cowboys. They were betting, a couple years removed from his injury, he could return to the form he had early in his Denver career.
Dallas needed a new running back. They let Rico Dowdle walk in free agency to the Carolina Panthers.
Williams came to town on a one-year contract worth up to $3.5 million ($3 million base salary).
And the Cowboys' first two touchdowns of the new season belonged to Williams, so it was quite the start in his new uniform.
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