Patriots 
Milton Williams is expected to be a force in the trenches for New England. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
By Conor Ryan
March 10, 2025 | 7:05 PM
The Patriots reportedly have a new force in the trenches.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, New England signed defensive tackle Milton Williams to a multi-year contract on the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period. ESPN’s Adam Schefter added that Williams agreed to a four-year, $104 million contract with New England that includes $63 million guaranteed.
It’s a hefty contract doled out by the Patriots, who landed arguably the top free agent on the market in the 25-year-old Williams.
Here are five things to know about New England’s new defensive lineman.
Williams may not be a household name (or at least wasn’t before the 2024 NFL playoffs), nor are his stats all that flashy.
But the 25-year-old lineman has been a wrecking ball at the line of scrimmage over the last few years, culminating in a breakout 2024 campaign. As one of the key cogs on an elite Philadelphia defensive unit, Williams recorded five sacks, 10 quarterback hits, and seven tackles for loss over 17 games this past year.
The 73rd pick of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Louisiana Tech, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Williams appeared in 67 total games with the Eagles over the last four seasons, closing out his tenure in Philadelphia with 132 total tackles, 11.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, 29 QB hits, and 25 tackles for loss.
Williams’ underlying numbers were even more impressive during the 2024 campaign, as his 12.5 QB pressure percentage ranked the highest among defensive tackles, per Next Gen Stats.
Next Gen Stats also had Williams tabbed with the second-highest pressure rate among all DTs last season, while also recording three or more pressures in all four of Philadelphia’s postseason games.
Williams reportedly secured a $100 million payout from New England due in large part to his dominant run to a Super Bowl with the Eagles this winter.
On an Eagles defense loaded with top talent across the depth chart, Williams was arguably Philly’s most impactful player during the postseason, saving his best game of the year for last in Super Bowl LIX against the Chiefs.
Williams and the rest of the Eagles’ defensive line tormented Patrick Mahomes throughout the contest, with Williams sacking Mahomes twice while also forcing and recovering a fumble in the lopsided 40-22 victory.
“He is a game wrecker — game changer on the inside. … Milton Williams, you could argue, was the best defender on the Eagles’ defensive line during their postseason run,” Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard said of Williams on his podcast last week.
“So those are the type of guys that Vrabel is looking for. He’s sort of like in that Jeffery Simmons role. So, yeah, I think [the Patriots] are on board with that.”
The Patriots have handed out some hefty deals over the years, be it the 10-year, $103-million contract Drew Bledsoe inked in 2001, the $23 million annual payout for Tom Brady in the 2019 season, or Christian Barmore’s four-year contract worth a maximum of $92 million.
But with New England in desperate need of an injection of talent and the Patriots entering the offseason with a league-best $121 million in cap space, Williams earned himself a record-setting contract with his four-year, $104 million deal.
That contract not only stands as the largest contract handed out by the Patriots (per average annual value), but it also makes Williams the third-highest-paid interior defender on an annual basis in the NFL.
Only Chris Jones ($31.75 million per year) and Christian Wilkins ($27.5 million) make more per year than Williams among defensive linemen.
With Mike Vrabel in place as New England’s head coach and Terrell Williams running the team’s defense, changes were to be expected for the Patriots’ overall approach on both sides of the ball.
Some of that sentiment was validated on Monday morning when the team traded veteran nose tackle Davon Godchaux to the Saints for a 2026 seventh-round pick. While the Patriots have regularly built up their defensive line around a hefty nose tackle since the days of Bill Belichick, New England’s new scheme will likely incorporate two defensive tackles who can both pressure the quarterback and close up running lanes.
Williams offers the highest ceiling for both Vrabel and Terrell Williams as a dynamic tackle just entering into the prime of his career. The new signing is in line to form a dynamic 1-2 punch alongside Barmore, so long as Barmore is cleared for game action after dealing with several health issues related to blood clots in 2024.
If Barmore is healthy, both he and Williams are poised to dole out plenty of punishment across offensive linemen and QBs in 2025. And if Barmore remains sidelined, Williams at least gives New England a dynamic presence in the trenches moving forward.
Vrabel’s emphasis on building up New England’s personnel in the trenches holds plenty of weight after a disastrous 2024 season. New England ranked last in the NFL last season with just 28 sacks, while they also finished with the 23rd-ranked run defense after allowing an average of 131.4 rushing yards per contest.
While Williams was a force at the tail end of his tenure in Philly, New England is operating with some risk as far as expecting the tackle to develop into a star on defense.
Even with Williams’ knack for putting QBs under duress, he also benefited from being part of an elite Philadelphia defensive unit that also routinely rotated out its personnel on the defensive line to keep its players fresh.
As part of a D-line grouping that also featured a pair of playmakers in Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, Williams wasn’t an every-down player.
During the 2024 season, Williams logged 48 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and has not surpassed 50 percent of defensive snaps in any of his four seasons with Philadelphia.
While the expectation is that a 25-year-old tackle with Williams has plenty of room to grow moving forward, there could be some growing pains on the horizon as Williams settles into a new role as a franchise tackle.
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