Why Mike Vrabel decided to call out Patriots’ highest-paid player

FOXBOROUGH — Milton Williams has yet to play a single snap for the New England Patriots.

But the 26-year-old defensive lineman is entering his first season in Foxborough as a critical piece of the Patriots’ reworked core — as evidenced by the four-year, $104 million contract that the team handed him this offseason.

But even with Williams’ track record as a disruptive force at the line of scrimmage and his standing as the highest-paid player in franchise history, those labels didn’t exempt him from some tough love during the first days of spring workouts.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at Gillette Stadium, Williams admitted that new head coach Mike Vrabel was quick to take him to task during a conditioning run. 

As part of the drill, players had to sprint to a certain point of the field, turn back, and get back to the goal line before a certain time.

After sprinting out of the gate, Williams opted to slow down on his way back to the goal line — having already reached the time set down by Vrabel.

But easing up on his run didn’t sit well with Vrabel. 

“I’m kind of chilling until I get to the line. [Vrabel] was like, ‘No, don’t let them catch you. If you can make it faster, make it,’” Williams said, “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 where I want to be.

“He wants me to go fast and empty the tank every rep,” Williams added. “I like that. I don’t think I’m bigger than the next person. I don’t mind him calling me out. Calling me out is going to help the other guys. We have no excuses.”

Even as a newcomer on New England’s roster, the Patriots are setting high expectations for Williams in 2025 and beyond. The former Eagles standout was a difference-maker last season, recording five sacks, 10 QB hits, and seven tackles for a loss in 2024. 

New England is banking on Williams taking another step forward with the Patriots, especially given the fact that Williams was primarily utilized as a situational player on the Eagles’ stacked defensive unit. 

During his four seasons in Philadelphia, Williams didn’t log over 50 percent of his team’s defensive snaps in any season. 

“Hopefully we’re going to be able to — I hope you want to play more than you played in Philadelphia,“ Vrabel said of Williams in March. “I know that you guys were extremely successful. But we want to play him a little bit more than that, and hope we can do that.” 

As Vrabel looks to build up a new culture in Foxborough, it looks as though Williams has already bought into the message and tone that his new head coach is looking to set. 

“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, Williams said of Vrabel, adding: “You can trust me to do my job. Whatever they need me to do – be productive, wherever they want me to line up. Just being a leader.

“Leading by example. [I’m] not really a rah-rah guy. What they ask us to do — do it, lead by example and hopefully the guys see me working and they follow suit. Try to bring everyone along to what we’re trying to build here.”

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.