When the New England Patriots fired former linebacker and Super Bowl champion Jerod Mayo as head coach and brought in former linebacker and 3-time Super Bowl champion Mike Vrabel as head coach, it signified a major culture shift within the organization. Even if they basically sound like the same guy.
At the heart of that culuture shift is an avalanche of spending and an aging owner in 84-year-old Robert Kraft who is desperate to see the Patriots return to the NFL elite in his lifetime.
Part of that move toward regaining their spot in the NFL hierarchy was a wild free agent spending spree — one in which the Patriots gave former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Milton Williams a staggering 4-year, $104 million contract.
While Williams seemed like one of the best players on the field in Philadelphia’s 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, it’s important to remember that he started just 7 games in the 2024 regular season with 24 tackles, 5.0 sacks and 10 QB hits.
With that in mind, Williams has already made a big impression on his new team by participating in all of the voluntary offseason workout program — fellow free agent signees Stefon Diggs and Carlton Davis III did not — and hasn’t shied away from Vrabel’s “tough love” approach to coaching.
“(Wlliams) seemed to embrace Vrabel’s approach of being hardest on the team’s best players,” ESPN’s Mike Reiss wrote on June 15.
The NFL didn’t fine #Eagles DT Jalen Carter for his apparent hit to Patrick Mahomes’ helmet in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIX.
However, Milton Williams was fined $14,069 for dunking over the crossbar after the ensuing strip-sack.
Williams Sets Example for New Teammates
While the NFL’s offseason workout program is still considered voluntary for large portions — free agents don’t contractually have to be there until minicamp — it would be foolish to think being there for every offseason workout doesn’t make a huge impression on your new teammates.
In this case, that might mean Williams taking a little bit of what he learned in 4 seasons with the Eagles — and 2 Super Bowl appearances — and teaching some of the younger Patriots what that process looks like.
“While Vrabel and all coaches are prevented by the Collective Bargaining Agreement from saying or doing anything to suggest that the voluntary workouts aren’t voluntary, this specific aspect of Vrabel’s plan for coaching his team demonstrates how he feels about players choosing — and not choosing — to be there,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on June 15. “Given that Vrabel likes to be hardest on the team’s best players, it’ll be interesting to see if players like Diggs and Davis have bought themselves an even more memorable experience in late July and August.”
No Realistic Way For Eagles to Keep Williams
There was never a path for Williams to stay in Philadelphia — something the 2021 third round pick probably realized playing alongside former first rounds picks and fellow interior defensive linemen Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.
That doesn’t make Williams leapfrogging into a new tax bracket any less impressive.
The 2021 third round pick (No. 73 overall) out of Louisiana Tech made approximately $6.8 million over his first 4 NFL seasons and will make $32 million in his first season with the Patriots.
That means in his first 4 games with the Patriots — at an estimated $1.77 million per game — Williams will have exceeded his earnings in his first 4 seasons with Eagles.
