Mike Vrabel to Milton Williams: Hope you're ready to play more

Defensive tackle Milton Williams made a big impact for the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX without being on the field all that much.

Williams played 25 defensive snaps in the win over the Chiefs and that was in line with the role the defensive lineman played throughout his time in Philadelphia. Williams played a career-high 48 percent of the team's defensive snaps in 2024 as he worked alongside a deep group of talented players like Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter on the Eagles' defensive line.

The Patriots liked Williams's production enough to sign him to a four-year, $104 million contract this week and head coach Mike Vrabel said at a Thursday press conference that he was clear with Williams that the big jump in pay will come with a big jump in playing time.

"I hope you want to play more than you played in Philadelphia, and 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," Vrabel said, via a transcript from the team.

Williams told reporters that he was excited to hear that because more playing time means "the more opportunity you've got to make plays." He'll have to make those plays without having the same kind of talent around him and his ability to do that will be the major question mark attached to New England's biggest free agency move.