Report: Milton Williams agrees to $26 million annual salary with New England Patriots as he departs the Eagles
Williams hits pay dirt with the Patriots, agreeing to what is expected to be a record-setting contract agreement after coming up big in the Super Bowl for the Eagles.
After a productive run with the Eagles, Milton Williams is cashing in.
According to NFL Network, the 25-year-old defensive tackle agreed Monday to terms with the New England Patriots on a deal that will net him roughly $26 million a year. A third-round pick by the Eagles in 2021, Williams was one of the first players to strike an agreement during the league’s legal tampering period and will become one of the highest-paid free agents this offseason once deals are allowed to be finalized later this week.
Operating as the complementary rusher opposite Eagles star defensive tackle Jalen Carter, Williams had five sacks in the regular season to go along with 54 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. One of his best games came in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs, when the former Louisiana Tech standout registered two sacks and four pressures.
In his first four seasons, Williams played 67 games and started 19 for the Eagles, beginning his career as a rotational defensive tackle and emerging as a prominent rushing option in the last couple of seasons. He played a career-high 48% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps last season, which ranked second among the team’s defensive tackles behind Carter. Because of Williams’ playing time and production, the Eagles will be in line to receive a compensatory pick from the league with him signing elsewhere.
As an internally developed draft pick at a premium position, Williams is the type of player the Eagles have typically prioritized re-signing under general manager Howie Roseman. But with a handful of market-resetting deals already on the books for players like Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and Landon Dickerson, the team came into the offseason relatively tight against the salary cap and prioritized extending the contracts for All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun and running back Saquon Barkley last week instead.
Reports also indicate Williams drove up a bidding war in the early going of free agency on Monday. Initial reports suggested Williams was close to agreeing to terms with the Carolina Panthers, but instead he’ll sign a deal with the Patriots that would firmly place him in the top five of defensive tackles in terms of annual value, according to the online database Over the Cap.