Milton Williams could miss ‘multiple weeks' with high ankle sprain: Report

Milton Williams could miss multiple weeks' with high ankle sprain: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots may have to get by without one of their best defensive players for the next few weeks.

Defensive tackle Milton Williams has a high ankle sprain and could miss multiple weeks" of action, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday.

Williams suffered the injury on the opening drive of the Patriots' 27-14 win over the New York Jets on Thursday night. He briefly returned to action early in the second quarter, but head coach Mike Vrabel decided to end Williams' night early after a total of eight defensive snaps.

I made a decision that felt like we should start treating that thing and get ahead of it and see where he is (Monday) and in the next couple of days," Vrabel said of Williams' ankle. He wanted to try to go. I made a decision I thought was best for the team for his instance."

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Williams' presence will be missed on Vrabel's defense. The 26-year-old - who signed the largest contract in Patriots history last offseason - has been on a force on New England's defensive line, racking up 3.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and 32 pressures through 11 games.

The good news for the Patriots? They have just two games before their bye week, both of which are winnable: next Sunday against the 3-6 Cincinnati Bengals and the following Monday night against the 2-8 New York Giants. So, it seems likely that Williams would miss both of those games and take at least three weeks to recover.

New England comes out of the bye on Sunday, Dec. 14 to host the Buffalo Bills in a key AFC East matchup. The Patriots would need all hands on deck to contain quarterback Josh Allen, so that would be the date for fans to circle in hopes of Williams being ready to return.