New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel does not plan on taking his foot off the gas.
A four-year, $104 million signing learned early on in the voluntary offseason workout program that he shouldn’t plan to, either.
“I’d say like the first week, I was out there running and Coach Vrabel called me out in front of everybody, which I like,” Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams told reporters during his Tuesday press conference at Gillette Stadium. “So he called me out and let me know, ‘Hey, if you’re going to be here, you need to set the standard.’ And after that, it’s been like, ‘OK.’ I’ve been trying to make sure I’m doing it every day. Every day I come in, just try to put my best foot forward and go from there.”
Williams, 26, arrived in Foxborough at the onset of NFL free agency with $63 million in total guarantees and an average annual value of $26 million. The March agreement made him highest-paid player in franchise history.
And it made him a 6-foot-3, 290-pound pace car for where an aggressive, accountable defense is heading under Vrabel & Co.
“I had already made it on my way back, so I’m kind of like chilling until I get to the line,” Williams recalled of the spring conditioning drill. “He was like, ‘No, don’t let them catch you. If you can make it faster, make it.’ All right. Every rep since then I’ve just been trying to make sure I’m the first one back. I feel like that’s just going to help push me to get to where I want to be. And then the guys that’s running with me, it’s going to push them to run even harder. It’s good.”
A Super Bowl LIX champion, Williams notched seven sacks between his final regular season and postseason with the Philadelphia Eagles. While playing less than 50% of the defensive snaps, Pro Football Focus charted the interior disruptor for 54 quarterback pressures from September into February.
“Shoot, I’m reliable. You can trust me to do my job, whatever they need me to do,” said Williams. “Being productive wherever they want me to line up. And just being a leader, leading by example. I’m not really a rah-rah guy. I’m just kind of just, whatever they ask me to do, do it and just lead by example. Hopefully the guys see me working and they will want to follow suit. Just try to bring everybody along to what we’re trying to build here.”
Williams made 76 appearances during his tenure with the organization that called his name in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft. The former No. 73 overall pick out of Louisiana Tech had a hand in 148 tackles, 14.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries altogether. He made 20 starts.
But as far as Vrabel’s stopwatch goes, getting back to the goal line is about more than getting back in time.
“He wanted me to just go ahead and empty the tank every rep,” added Williams. “Like I said, I like that. I don’t mind. I don’t think I’m bigger than the next person. I don’t mind getting called out, because if he’s calling me out, it’s going to help the other guys. We ain’t got no excuses for nobody to be not giving it their all, so I don’t mind it.”
