Milton Williams mostly kept to himself whenever he was seen inside the Eagles' locker room. The defensive tackle was quiet and would usually sit by himself at his locker, preparing for whatever was next, a practice, a meeting, whatever.
The New England Patriots might be hoping for a little more, especially after changing Williams’ life thi offseason by giving him the most money than they ever paid anyone in their history – a four-year, $104 million contract, with $51M that as fully guaranteed when he signed to go along with another $24M signing bonus.
Evidence of what sort of bang the Patriots expect from their buck, and Williams, was the earful that coach Mike Vrabel was reportedly seen giving him during the end of a timed run when he saw Williams pull up before crossing the finish line.
“I like that,” Williams told reporters. “I don't mind. I don't think I'm bigger than the next person. I don't mind getting called out, because him calling me out is just going to help the other guys. We ain't got no excuses for nobody to be not giving their all.”
Williams started just 19 games with the Eagles over four seasons, but played in 67 as part of a rotation that helped the Eagles make two Super Bowl and win one on Feb. 9.
He took on a larger role in the Eagles’ rotation when Brandon Graham tore a triceps muscle during a regular-season game against the Los Angeles Rams. His playtime increased and he took full advantage. He finished the regular season with five sacks and added two more in four playoff games.
“Really just getting the opportunity to just go rush,” said Williams in January, days before the Eagles’ playoff march to the Lombardi Trophy. “That was the first game where they let me go out there and really just let me rush on third down. I don’t know who made the call – Vic (Fangio) or Coach (Clint) Hurtt or Coach (Nick) Sirianni, but definitely grateful that they did.”
It certainly helped him land his monster deal that led north to New England, and with it, a whole different set of expectations when it comes to maybe not being as quiet as he was in Philly when he had veterans Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham to lead the way. And Vrabel just wanted to make him aware of those expectations on the timed run.
“Just instead of, like, we running and we got a time we were supposed to make it in and I already made it on my way back,” said Williams to reporters. “So I'm kind of like chilling until I get to the line, he's like ‘Nah, don't let them catch you. If you can make it faster, make it.’ So I'm like, ‘Alright.’
“So every rep since then, I've just been trying to make sure I'm the first one back. I feel like that's going to help me, just push me to where I want to be. And the guys that are running with me, that's going to push them to run even harder.”
