Cowboys DE Sam Williams suspended 3 games for violating NFL’s personal conduct policy

FRISCO, Texas – Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sam Williams was suspended three games by the NFL on Monday for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Williams has been injured all season after tearing the cruciate ligament in his left knee during special teams drills in training camp in August. He later had season-ending surgery. His suspension means he will not be paid for the next three weeks, but could be reinstated on November 11 and will not have to miss any matches when he returns from injury.

Williams was arrested twice in 2023 for traffic-related incidents.

After Williams was pulled over in the Dallas suburb of Frisco in August 2023, he was charged with possession of a controlled substance and illegal carrying of a weapon after the team returned home from training camp in California.

This was seven months after Williams was charged with careless driving after the crash, which occurred just days before Christmas 2022, when he weaved through traffic while traveling at around 100 mph and collided with a vehicle driven by a 71-year-old woman. Neither driver was seriously injured.

Before getting injured in camp this year, the 6-foot-1, 261-pound Williams was expected to play a larger role as an offensive lineman. Defensive end Dorance Armstrong and outside linebacker Dante Fowler left the Cowboys in free agency during the offseason.

Williams, who received a second-round draft pick from Mississippi in 2022, has played in 32 regular season games over the past two seasons, including 17 games last year. He has 8 1/2 career sacks.