The Philadelphia Eagles were one of the several teams that weren’t in action on Sunday, as they already played their Week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Eagles fans were able to sit back and watch the rest of the league, while also seeing how former Eagle players did with their new teams.
One of those ex-Eagles in action was versatile defensive lineman Milton Williams, who signed a massive four-year, $104 million contract with the New England Patriots in free agency. The Patriots are looking for Williams to help anchor their revamped defensive line for the foreseeable future.
It’s a lot of pressure on the former Eagles defender, who doesn’t have the luxury of playing next to Jalen Carter, Josh Sweat, Jordan Davis, and Nolan Smith Jr. But the group that he currently has in New England isn't too shabby either.
Milton Williams Is Already Getting Put to Work by the Patriots
The ex-Eagle made his Patriots’ debut on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders and played a ton. According to Brian Hines of Pats Pulpit, Williams played a career-high 49 snaps and produced seven pressures on 30 pass rushers, per NextGenStats.
The 26-year-old defensive lineman also racked up four combined tackles, two quarterback hits, and a tackle for loss in the Patriots’ seven-point loss.
He wasn't the only Patriots' defensive starter that played 40-plus snaps either, as Christian Barmore (47) and Harold Landry (48) joined him. Given the struggles of the Pats' defense last year under Jerod Mayo, Vrabel is clearly making it a point to get his best players on the field at all times. It netted positive results as the Pats' defense only allowed 56 rushing yards and a touchdown, and racked up four sacks.
This new career-high beats the mark Williams set during his rookie season in 2021 against the Dallas Cowboys. He played 47 snaps and recorded two tackles as the Eagles got crushed 41-21 in his first start. At that time, Philly's defensive line featured Derek Barnett, Javon Hargrave, and Fletcher Cox, which wasn't a bad group. But it also wasn't as deep a group as we've seen over the last couple years, explaining why Williams' snap counts were never quite so high. It's also not like he wasn't still seeing plenty of p
The veteran defensive lineman played 40-plus defensive snaps three times during the 2024 regular season, then in each of the first three playoff games. He probably would've that mark in the Super Bowl, too, if the game were even remotely close.
With the contract he received in free agency from the Patriots, Vrabel will be looking for him to not only be a pass-rush specialist like he was in Philly, but an all-around defensive lineman. There's not much depth behind him with the Pats, and these big snap counts will likely become his new norm.
The Eagles' attempts to adapt without Williams had their ups and downs in Week 1. Jordan Davis was terrific, and set his own career-high in snaps played (53), but the unit was also without the ejected Jalen Carter, and their pass-rush struggled.
Williams is still relatively unproven in this every-down role, and whether he can continue to play the increased snaps will help determine just how worthwhile his big new contract with the Pats is.