Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams is due $12.95 million in 2010, which is an awfully steep price to pay for a player who had 38 catches for 596 yards in 2009.
But while it’s probably safe to say that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would prefer not to be paying that kind of money for a player giving his team that kind of production, Jones says he does want Williams back on the Cowboys for the 2010 season. At the press conference announcing the return of Wade Phillips, Jones was asked about Williams, and the owner praised Williams’ work ethic and talent.
“I think we’ve got a player who has the will and, I think, we have the ability,” Jones said of Williams.
Jones acknowledged that “His contract is a major consideration,” but Jones said a bigger consideration is his belief that Williams has the talent to be an elite NFL wide receiver.
Phillips also said he likes the potential Williams has for improving the team, and he said he viewed Williams’ lack of production as the fault of the coaches, not the player.
“I’m disappointed more in myself than in him,” Phillips said. “I’ve got to find a way to help him be better within the whole scheme.”
If the coaches can’t figure out how to help Williams be better within the Cowboys’ offensive scheme, they’ll have the league’s most expensive role player in 2010.