IRVING - It's been 53 weeks since the Cowboys made a trade with Detroit that brought wide receiver Roy Williams to Dallas. When Miles Austin had a record-breaking day against the Chiefs, Williams was home nursing a rib injury.
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday if that had been Williams, little would have changed.
"If he had had a Miles Austin game in one of our first five games this year, I wouldn't have wanted to declare - and I don't think any of you would have declared it - the greatest trade since ice cream," Jones said.
Williams knows the one thing he needs to find is what he's has been missing so far, and that's consistency.
"The thing I say about any player in this league is consistency," Williams said. "You have to be consistent."
In 14 games so far with Dallas, Williams has 30 catches for 412 yards and two touchdowns. The price for those numbers was a first-, third- and sixth-round selection.
Dallas did get Detroit's seventh-round pick, but that was traded to Atlanta to move up to take DeAngelo Smith. Smith was claimed by Cleveland before being assigned to the practice squad.
"I liked the value we were getting at the time," Jones said. "Now what really counts is: Can Roy become and be everything that he needs to be to be our number one receiver?"
So far, Williams hasn't been nearly as productive as the Cowboys thought he might be. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says it's still too early for him to decide whether the trade was a bust or not - but it's obvious he expected more.
"The verdict is still out, and would still be out, if he had a big game," Jones said. "I'm pleased with the trade, and the main reason I'm pleased is he's everything that you would want him to be work ethic-wise, and what he's doing as a teammate and what he's doing as far as his coachability. The thing we all know - he has top talent."
Tony Romo has thrown just 25 passes to Williams so far, which seems low considering Romo has thrown the 10th most passes in the league. As a result, Williams is fifth on the team in total receptions.
