After a strong season to close out his rookie contract in Philadelphia, Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams found himself on the outside looking in at his two talented, first-round pick teammates. With the Eagles looking ahead at the potential of needing to eventually extend both Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, Williams didn’t even receive an offer from the team that drafted him before departing in free agency, per Vic Tafur of The Athletic. 
Realizing that the Eagles were shifting their focus to the younger Georgia duo, Williams made his desires known. While most breakout players exit their contract years seeking to cash in as much as possible on their second deals, even if it means joining a losing team, Williams expressed a desire to stay in a winning situation. In his four years with the Eagles, the team made the playoffs every season, alternating conclusions between first-round losses to the Buccaneers and Super Bowl matchups with the Chiefs.
Unfortunately for Milton, the two teams that pursued him the hardest finished the 2024 season a combined 9-25. After some early interest from the 4-13 Patriots, the 5-12 Panthers looked to be pursuing an agreement with the young defensive lineman. Ultimately, the team with the lesser record won out, and New England signed Milton to the largest free agent deal of the offseason. While quarterback Sam Darnold edged Milton out in annual average value with his move to Seattle, there was no free agent deal last year that saw a higher total value than Williams’ four-year, $104MM contract with the Patriots.
It turned out, though, that Williams was, in fact, heading to another winning situation. In coming to New England, not only did Williams find himself on a team that finished with more total wins than any other team in the league (17, including playoffs), but he also found himself heading right back to the Super Bowl. As current underdogs, Williams and his teammates will have to pull off an upset in order to secure him consecutive rings, but to even have this opportunity in February is a fortunate situation to be in.
As the years roll on, the Eagles may not necessarily regret letting Williams walk without so much as an offer as they attempt to tie themselves to Carter and Davis long term. Regardless, Williams certainly benefitted from taking the opportunity to cash in on his strong contract year and unexpectedly landed in a good situation, nonetheless.
You can’t pay everyone. And if Patullo wasn’t the worst of the worst? Likely the Eagles are facing the Pats to now instead of the Seahawks. Their problem isn’t defense.
I didn’t see Patullo throwing ducks…
Lol as if the offensive coordinator was the only problem.
I was a big fan of Williams but it was just a numbers game unfortunately and he didn’t fit in. I’m sure if the $$ wasn’t a thing Howie would have brought him back.
Yeah, this was pretty well known last year to my memory. Philadelphia couldn’t pay Williams and the other two linemen that they wanted to extend. They knew that whatever they offered wouldn’t have been remotely competitive, and I think they said that, too.
They had clearly already planned to replace him with Ojomo just like they drafted Williams to be a similar versatile agile DT to Jernigan.
Milt will always be one of my favorite Eagles though. Not as beastly as Trent Cole but the same kind of mid round pick underdog.
Not many people were as beastly Trent Cole. Too much of a forgotten player, in my mind.
It’s ridiculous he didn’t have one let alone multiple Pro Bowl selections with the dominant stats he put up.
I still need to buy a Trent Cole jersey one day.