Williams signed a four-year deal in free agency this offseason.
As the New England Patriots took the line in a team conditioning period, Milton Williams got out of the gate hot.
When he hit the mark to turn back, Williams knew he would cross the finish line under the allotted time limit. He then coasted through to end the run.
Head coach Mike Vrabel took note.
“I’m kind of like chilling until I get to the line. He was like, ‘No, don’t let them catch you. If you can make it faster, make it,’” Williams recalled on Tuesday. “I’m like, ‘alright.’ Every rep since then, I’m trying to make sure I’m the first one back. I feel like it’s going to help me, just push me to get where I want to be.”
“He wants me to go ahead and empty the tank every rep. I like that. I don’t mind,” he later added. “I don’t think I’m bigger than the next person. I don’t mind getting called out. He calling me out is just going to help the other guys. We have no excuses for nobody to not be giving it their all.”
Following a career-year for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, Williams inked a monster four-year, $104 million contract with the Patriots in free agency. Now the highest paid player on his new team — and holding the highest contract in franchise history in terms of AAV — Vrabel is looking to the 26-year-old to help lead by example.
“Coach Vrabel called me out in front of everybody, which I like,” Williams said. “He called me out like, ‘Hey, if you’re going to be here, you need to set the standard.’ After that, I’ve been trying to make sure I’m doing that every day. Try to put my best foot forward and go from there.”
With a new team and contract, Williams will also have new responsibilities in New England. That will start with an increased role, as Williams never logged more than 50 percent of the Eagles’ single-season defensive snaps in a deep defensive line group.
Vrabel has made it clear Williams will eclipse that mark with the Patriots, where he projects to be strong fit along the defensive front as a disruptive 3-technique. That will include aligning next to Christian Barmore as the duo could create one of the more formidable interior combinations in the entire league.
“Me and him have been having conversations about how the defense is going to start and end with what we do up front. Every day we come in, we got to set the tone and then everyone else is going to follow,” Williams said.
“Me and him going to set the table for the defense we’ll be this year and we’re going to have to carry us throughout the year.”