Sam Williams’ ACL tear part of an alarming trend for Dallas

[This is part one of a two-part series.] While the Dallas Cowboys are dealing with the fallout of losing Sam Williams to a torn ACL and MCL, there’s a larger concern on their radar.

In the seven seasons that preceded this decade, 2013-2019, the Cowboys recorded five ACL tears.

Since the start of the 2020 season, they are now at 10. Already double the number in just a little over half the time.

Here’s the list of those 10 players who suffered ACL tears since the opening game of the 2020 season:

Blake Jarwin, 2020, Week 1 (Turf – Los Angeles)

Trysten Hill, 2020, Week 5, (Turf – AT&T Stadium)

Jabril Cox, LB, 2021 Week 8 (Turf – Minnesota)

Michael Gallup, WR, 2021 Week 17 (Turf – Arizona)

Terence Steele, OT, 2022 Week 14 (Turf – AT&T Stadium)

DeMarvion Overshown, LB, 2023 Preseason (Turf – Seattle)

John Stephens Jr., TE, 2023 Preseason (Turf – Seattle)

David Durden, WR, 2023 Training Camp (Grass – Oxnard – a few days after Overshown/Stephens)

Trevon Diggs, DB. 2023 Week 3 Practice (Grass – Frisco)

Sam Williams, DE, 2024 Training Camp (Grass – Oxnard)

Significant Impact

In nearly every case, at the time of the injury, the injured player either played a significant role or was expected to have a breakout year. Then the injury struck and ended that expectation for the season.

Not every player has recovered fully or even remains on the roster.

In Blake Jarwin’s case, he was the heir apparent to Jason Witten at tight end. In the season opener against the Rams in Los Angeles, Jarwin caught an early 12-yard pass. In the second quarter, though, on a non-contact play no less, Jarwin went down for the season with a torn ACL.

He would return for the 2021 season to play in eight games, five as a starter. Jarwin finished the year with 96 yards and two touchdowns on 11 receptions for the season.

He was out of the NFL after the 2021 season.

Four weeks later, second-year defensive tackle, Trysten Hill, tore his ACL while chasing after a Giants ball carrier at AT&T Stadium. He was also lost for the season – as was Dak Prescott later in the same game with an ankle injury – and was off the roster midway through the 2022 season.

The 2021 season also saw two ACL injuries for Dallas. Linebacker Jabril Cox went down in a week eight game at Minnesota.

Nine weeks later, while catching a touchdown pass against the Cardinals at Arizona, Michael Gallup tore his ACL while leaping to make the catch.

Gallup returned for the 2022 and 2023 seasons but was never the same. He signed this summer with the Raiders and recently announced his retirement.

Cox returned to Dallas in 2022 and played in just nine games before joining the Commanders in 2023. His numbers post-injury are barely worth noting. He is currently trying to make the 53-man roster for the Vikings this summer.

In 2022, Terence Steele was felled by an ACL tear in the 14th week at home against the Texans.

Steele returned to the starting lineup for all 17 games in 2023. But he showed signs throughout the year of still being on the comeback trail from the injury.

The Comeback Begins

In 2023, three Cowboys tore ACLs before the regular season even began. A fourth went down during practice before the third week of the season was played.

Both linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and tight end John Stephens Jr. suffered ACL tears against the Seahawks on the road in a preseason game.

A few days later, back at training camp in Oxnard, down went receiver David Durden with an ACL tear.

The biggest blow came a little over two weeks into the regular season. Trevon Diggs, was practicing at Frisco when he went down with an ACL tear.

All four players are trying to work their way back from the injuries, with Diggs having just come off the PUP list this week.

Now it’s Sam Williams. He went down on the same grass field that Durden suffered his injury on last year. Williams is just now starting on the likely year-long path to recovery.

What Is The Cause?

There’s the question. Why has the number of ACL tears increased so dramatically?

Is it just the Cowboys who are suffering this particular injury bug?

More importantly, what is causing these injuries?

What, if anything, can be done to reduce them, if not put an end to them outright?

We’ll take a look at those questions, as well as how the NFL is addressing them, in the second part of this two-post series, tomorrow.