Patriots Activate DT Milton Williams, T Will Campbell From IR
The playoffs are locked up, and the Patriots’ final game of the season is at home against a depleted Dolphins team. As they attempt to secure their highest win total since 2016 and a chance at the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC side of the playoff bracket, they will bring in some reinforcements. New England announced today that it has activated defensive tackle Milton Williams and left tackle Will Campbell from injured reserve. 
Williams suffered the high ankle sprain that landed him on IR back in Week 11 but only had his 21-day practice window opened last week. The former Eagle’s debut season in New England was off to a hot start as he was tracking for potential career-highs in sacks, tackles for loss, and quarterback hits.
When he was lost to injury, Williams wasn’t the only defender to suffer from the loss; fellow interior defender Christian Barmore saw far more double teams with Williams not there to worry about. Williams’ return to the lineup should make big differences to the effectiveness of the Pats’ defensive line just in time for the playoffs.
Campbell, the team’s rookie No. 4 overall pick this year, had arguably been living up to his draft stock as the 2025 draft class’s best offensive tackle this year. Manning the starting job on the blindside in New England, Campbell’s tape from his 12 starts this year grade him out as the league’s 33rd-best tackle, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He was placed on IR after suffering a knee injury in Week 12, but after returning to practice this week and fully participating in three sessions, he’s proven he’s ready to return to the starting lineup.
The Patriots already had one open roster spot, so they just needed to waive defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. in order to make room for the two returning starters. The team also announced that center Brenden Jaimes and defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III will serve as standard gameday practice squad elevations for the team’s regular season finale.
Patriots To Open DT Milton Williams’ IR-Return Window
Although the Patriots have been without rookie left tackle Will Campbell for a bit, they have been a dormant operation when it comes to using injury activations. Through 16 weeks, New England has only activated one player from IR.
Beyond activating linebacker Jahlani Tavai in Week 5, the Pats have not turned to this transaction during their bounce-back season. They will almost definitely be doing so at least two more times this year. Campbell (MCL sprain) is not out for the season and will be eligible for activation next week. Milton Williams is already eligible to come back, and the high-priced defensive tackle will indeed see his IR-return clock start.
Mike Vrabel confirmed (via the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed) Williams will resume practicing this week. The fifth-year defensive lineman has been on IR since suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 11. This has hindered the Patriots’ defense, particularly in a loss to the Bills that featured the visitors score 35 points and gain 246 rushing yards.
No free agent received more fully guaranteed money this offseason than Williams, who generated a bidding war that involved the Panthers and presumably others in March. Williams collected a whopping $51MM at signing on a four-year, $104MM deal, leapfrogging several more accomplished interior defensive linemen on the salary spectrum; he entered the season as the NFL’s second-highest-paid D-tackle.
Williams has been effective for the Pats, though he has a ways to go to justify the big-ticket contract he received. The former third-round pick has 3.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss. Williams closed last season with five sacks and seven TFLs, though he was certainly on track to surpass those benchmarks had this ankle injury not intervened. Pro Football Focus ranks Williams 47th among interior D-linemen this season, but he represents a valuable piece in a new-look AFC puzzle featuring the Pats as key players.
The Chiefs are out of the picture, and the Patriots moved the Ravens toward the elimination cliff Sunday night. New England and Denver are neck and neck, odds-wise, to claim the No. 1 seed. The Pats have the easier schedule to close the season, with games against the Jets and Dolphins remaining, while the Broncos follow their Arrowhead Stadium tilt with a home matchup against the Chargers. Regardless of the Pats’ seed, it appears they will have Williams back alongside Christian Barmore soon. That will help fortify a defense that still ranks seventh in points allowed ahead of Week 17.
Patriots DT Milton Williams Placed On IR
The Patriots have placed starting defensive tackle Milton Williams on injured reserve, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The veteran in his first season away from Philadelphia suffered a high ankle sprain in Thursday night’s game, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and will be out for at least four games. To fill Williams’ spot on the 53-man roster, New England has signed practice squad outside linebacker Bradyn Swinson to an active roster contract. 
After four strong years in Philadelphia, where the former third-round pick started 19 of 67 game appearances, Williams is in his first season with the Patriots and his first season as a full-time starter. He’s anchored a deep interior line alongside, most often, Christian Barmore and Khyiris Tonga. Joshua Farmer and Cory Durden have provided depth across the line this year, and they’ll be challenged even more during Williams’ absence.
When Williams left the game Thursday night, New England’s run defense appeared to take a hit, allowing 5.0 yards per carry over the course of the contest. Barmore, also working as a full-time starter for the first time in his fifth season with the Patriots, is likely to take on the biggest role in Williams’ absence. Tonga will likely be the other consistent starter next to Barmore, while Farmer and Durden could compete for the opportunity to see more time with the first-team defense.
Farmer, the fourth-round rookie out of Florida State, has one start under his belt this year, but Durden has been a pleasant surprise off the bench. Also a Florida State signee at one point, Durden went undrafted in 2023 after transferring to NC State and becoming a standout defender for the Wolfpack. He’s seen short stretches of playing time in four games as a rookie with the Rams and four games last year with the Giants. He’s made the most of his opportunities in New England so far this year, opportunities that have been increasing throughout the year.
Swinson was a fifth-round pick for the Patriots out of LSU after finishing his final season with 8.5 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss. He failed to make the team’s initial 53-man roster and was signed to the practice squad. Coming up to the active roster in Williams’ place, Swinson may get a chance to make his NFL debut next weekend in Cincinnati.
There is still plenty of time left in the season for Williams to sit out his four weeks and return from IR in time to close out the regular season in preparation for a playoff run. With New England sitting atop the division at 9-2 and games against the Bengals, Giants, Jets, and Dolphins remaining on the schedule, a postseason berth is likely. Even the team’s tougher remaining opponents — the Bills and Ravens — will be seeing the Patriots immediately following their Week 14 bye. Williams will be eligible to return in Week 17.
Patriots Notes: Williams, Tavai, Ownership
Milton Williams earned the largest contract of the 2025 offseason, with his $104MM in total value and $63MM in guaranteed money pacing the class. The financials obviously played a big role in the defensive lineman ultimately joining the Patriots, although Williams recently admitted that the presence of newly hired head coach Mike Vrabel was the true deciding factor.
“I wanted to be under Vrabel,” Williams said (via ESPN’s Mike Reiss). “He played in this league. He knows what D-line looks like. I could pick his brain for anything I could add to my game to make me a better player. This scheme fits exactly my play style, being aggressive up front.”
There were rumblings that Williams was destined for the Panthers before the Patriots swooped in at the eleventh hour. After handing the veteran the most lucrative contract in franchise history (in terms of AAV), New England was clearly hoping their acquisition could anchor their defense. So far, Williams has lived up to the bargain, as he’s totaled a pair of sacks and five tackles for loss in his first four games with the organization.
Williams garnered his contract following a successful run with the Eagles. The defensive tackle was often deployed as a rotational option, with the former third-round pick topping out at 501 defensive snaps played in 2024 (which represented less than half of his team’s total defensive snaps). There were some questions if Williams would be capable of transitioning into a near-full-time role with the Patriots, and he hasn’t had an issue staying on the field for his new club. Through four games, Williams has appeared in a career-high 68 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
As the organization looks to continue building off a 2-2 start, they’ll be getting some defensive reinforcement. After cornerback Christian Gonzalez made his season debut this past weekend, the team will soon welcome back linebacker Jahlani Tavai. The veteran landed on IR with a calf injury to begin the season and is now eligible to be activated. According to Reiss, a Week 5 return has been the player’s target throughout his rehab.
Tavai provided a bit of stability for the Patriots over the past few years. He averaged 112 tackles per season between 2023 and 2024, although he may be hard pressed to reach those levels in 2025. He’ll be joining a deeper inside linebackers corps that’s currently led by Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss.
The organization is also staying busy off the field. Kurt Badenhausen, Eben Novy-Williams, and Scott Soshnick of Sportico recently reported that Robert Kraft agreed to sell a minority stake in his franchise. The buyers are Sixth Street (3 percent) and Dean Metropoulos (5 percent), and the Kraft family will continue to own about 90 percent of the team. The funds are intended to be reinvested into the team and won’t be used to finance the New England Revolution, the Kraft family’s MLS club.
Notably, this stake in the franchise represents a valuation of $9 billion. Per Sportico, that would be the second-richest valuation for a franchise in NFL history, with a recent Giants stake equaling a $10 billion valuation. The league recently allowed a select list of private equity firms to purchase small chunks of NFL teams.
Panthers Exec: No Milton Williams Agreement Occurred
One of the top storylines coming out of the legal tampering period involved Milton Williams, who was viewed as close to committing to the Panthers before a monster Patriots offer came in. The Patriots ended up using their league-leading cap-space figure to outmuscle the Panthers, but Carolina’s agreement with the top-tier free agent does not appear to have crossed the goal line.
Williams has said he was deep in negotiations with the Panthers, but Carolina executive VP of football ops Brandt Tilis said (the Charlotte Observer’s Mike Kaye) the team never believed it had a deal done. Although Tilis said Williams’ agent never provided an indication the defensive tackle was Carolina-bound, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the sides were working to finalize a deal hours into the tampering period.
As for Williams’ account, he did begin to anticipate heading to Charlotte — but a better New England offer emerged soon after. As could be expected, PFR’s No. 3 overall free agent received a few offers. The Panthers were indeed one of them, but the Patriots’ four-year, $104MM contract (including $51MM guaranteed at signing) won out.
“They were on the phone talking to teams, and teams were coming in with new deals. There was a lot going on, and it happened really fast,” Williams said of his camp during an NFL Network appearance (h/t NFL.com’s Kevin Patra). “They talked about Carolina then and I was like, ‘Alright, it sounds like the best offer we are going to get, so, we were going to go there.’ Then, a split second later, New England hopped on and was like, ‘Nah, this is what we got for you.’ Carolina felt like they went too high on their number, so, they stayed at where they were at.”
The Patriots are indeed betting big on Williams, who cemented a contract-year breakthrough with a two-sack showing in Super Bowl LIX. The Eagles have lost two of their pass rushers from that game, with Josh Sweat joining the Cardinals. Williams, 26 next week, finished as Pro Football Focus’ top-rated interior pass rusher last season. ESPN’s pass rush win rate slotted Williams sixth in 2024, a five-sack seasons that included 10 QB hits and seven tackles for loss. This commanded a lucrative market, as Williams led the way among all 2025 free agents in fully guaranteed money.
While Williams will team with Christian Barmore in New England, Carolina allocated funds elsewhere along its D-line. The team added nose tackle Bobby Brown (three years, $21MM) and then spent for an interior pass rusher in Tershawn Wharton. The latter did not bring the market Williams did, as little production transpired before last season, but the ex-Chief still commanded a three-year, $45.1MM deal that came with an impressive $30MM at signing. A former UDFA out of Division II Missouri S&T, Wharton will be counted on to supply a pass rush in line with his 2024 work (6.5 sacks, 11 QB hits). Benefiting from playing alongside future Hall of Famer Chris Jones, Wharton will have Derrick Brown to play alongside next season.
Contract Details: Horn, Pats, Pack, Vikings
It’s that time of year. It is time to begin sorting through the contracts agreed to early in free agency. We will start with some of the biggest deals to emerge this week.
- Jaycee Horn, CB (Panthers). Four years, $100MM. Horn’s Carolina extension covers $72MM in total guarantees (second among CBs) and $46.7MM at signing (first). Horn’s 2025 and ’26 base salaries are fully guaranteed; his $15.74MM 2027 base salary will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2026 league year, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Additionally, $7.1MM of Horn’s $21.7MM 2028 base is already guaranteed for injury, per Wilson. That amount will shift to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2028 league year.
- Milton Williams, DT (Patriots): Four years, $104MM. Williams will see $63MM in total guarantees and $51MM at signing, per OverTheCap. Williams’ 2027 base salary ($27MM) is guaranteed for injury; it will shift to a full guarantee if he remains on New England’s roster on Day 3 of the 2027 league year, Wilson tweets.
- Aaron Banks, G (Packers). Four years, $77MM. Only a $27MM signing bonus is guaranteed, via OverTheCap, as the Packers do not usually include guaranteed salary beyond Year 1. Banks is due a $9.5MM roster bonus on Day 3 of the 2026 league year, Wilson notes. The same structure is in place for 2027, with another $9.5MM bonus due. These represent future guarantee dates on this year-$20MM-AAV accord, though the Pack — as they do with Josh Jacobs — will have a natural out after Year 2 of the deal.
- Byron Murphy, CB (Vikings): Three years, $54MM. This is significantly lower than initially reported (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo), as Murphy can only reach the $22MM-AAV number through incentives. Murphy’s first two base salaries are fully guaranteed, per Wilson. Rather than being the NFL’s fourth-highest-paid CB, Murphy is tied for 13th after the true AAV emerged.
- Charvarius Ward, CB (Colts): Three years, $54MM. This one had the correct value from the start, as Murphy’s subsequent Vikings deal matched these terms. Ward will see $27MM at signing. To reach the $34.98MM total guarantee, he must remain on Indianapolis’ roster past Day 5 of the 2026 league year. As $5MM of Ward’s $12.98MM 2026 base salary is guaranteed at signing, the rest locks in on that March 2026 date, Wilson tweets.
- Jonathan Allen, DL (Vikings): Three years, $51MM. This also checks in lower (via Garafolo) than initially reported, which is not uncommon. Half of Allen’s $16MM 2026 base salary is guaranteed at signing, with the other half (via Wilson) locking in if the D-lineman is on Minnesota’s roster come Day 3 of the 2026 league year.
- Jamien Sherwood, LB (Jets). Three years, $45MM. The Jets are guaranteeing $30MM, as ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini notes this is the second-biggest LB guarantee the team has authorized (after C.J. Mosley‘s then-record FA deal in 2019). The Jets included a $7.5MM option bonus due at any point before Week 1 of the 2026 season, Wilson notes. This, along with three void years, will reduce Sherwood’s cap hits; he will not carry a figure north of $11.5MM until 2027.
- Drew Dalman, C (Bears): Three years, $42MM. $26.5MM of Dalman’s $28MM guarantee comes at signing, giving the ex-Falcons center the second-biggest center guarantee (passing Lloyd Cushenberry‘s 2024 Titans FA deal). $9.5MM of Dalman’s $11MM 2026 base salary is fully guaranteed at signing, per Wilson. The other $1.5MM vests if/once he is on Chicago’s roster on Day 3 of the ’26 league year. Dalman’s 2027 salary is nonguaranteed.
Patriots, Milton Williams Agree To Deal
The Panthers looked to be the frontrunners to secure Milton Williams, but that will no longer be the case . The Patriots are adding Williams instead, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo report.
Williams will head to Foxborough on a monster deal that averages $26MM per season over four years. After the Cowboys kept Osa Odighizuwa off the market, Williams — PFR’s No. 3 overall free agent — will benefit from being allowed to speak with multiple suitors.
Carolina was deep in talks with Williams, who will parlay a big contract year into a seismic second contract. The Panthers were close to a deal, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Patriots then upped their price — on a deal that includes $63MM guaranteed — to end the derby. After Chris Jones and Christian Wilkins reset the D-tackle market last year, Williams will benefit. Assuming the $63MM represents Williams’ guarantee total (as opposed to the amount fully locked in at signing), that still ranks sixth among DTs.
The Eagles had re-signed Zack Baun, but the Super Bowl champions had left Williams, Josh Sweat and Mekhi Becton unattached as the legal tampering period began today. Williams represents the first defection, and Sweat has since committed to the Cardinals, rejoining Jonathan Gannon.
Williams’ contract year produced career-high numbers in sacks (five) and QB hits (10). Used as a part-time starter, the Louisiana Tech product totaled 18 pressures as well, ranking sixth in DT pass rush win rate. Pro Football Focus ranked the former third-round pick as the No. 1 interior pass rusher last season, and the Patriots will buy in while the Eagles will predictably build their DT future around Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.
The Patriots extended Christian Barmore last year but saw him miss most of the season due to blood clots. Barmore returned late in the year and will now pair with Williams to round out a pricey D-tackle duo. Williams joins Harold Landry, Carlton Davis and Robert Spillane as additions aimed at restoring the Patriots to an upper-crust defense. After two-plus decades carrying such chops, New England plummeted to 22nd in yards and points allowed despite Christian Gonzalez‘s All-Pro ascent.
Coming into free agency with the most cap space in the NFL, the Patriots are delivering on Mike Vrabel’s push to both spend in free agency and bolster their lines. Williams will be the biggest bet any team makes on the D-line during this free agency period, and the Pats will expect him to build on a breakout season.
Williams showed flashes before, having supplied a career-high nine tackles for loss during the Eagles’ 2022 NFC championship season. Although his Super Bowl LIX sack-strip-recovery sequence introduced the former third-round pick to the casual fans — ones that were still watching by that point — Williams will be out to prove he is not a one-year wonder.
Panthers Pursuing Milton Williams Deal
The Panthers have, as expected, made a strong push with respect to an outside defensive addition. Milton Williams is on Carolina’s radar.
Team and player are finalizing a deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Nothing is in place for now, and free agent deals cannot of course be signed until the new league year begins on Wednesday. Terms can be agreed to at any time, though, and Williams would represent a major addition for the Panthers.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports other teams are still making their own efforts to secure Williams. A Panthers arrangement is considered close, but a last-minute change could still take place. The Eagles standout entered the week as PFR’s No. 3 free agent and second-best defender. It comes as no surprise interest has quickly been shown early in the negotiating period.
Once Osa Odighizuwa agreed to a new Cowboys deal (with a franchise tag looming anyway), it was clear Williams would be the top DL free agent in 2025. His rookie pact consisted of a part-time role in Philadelphia, but it allowed him to showcase his upside. Williams set a new career high in sacks (five) and QB hits (10) in 2024 during the regular season, then delivered highly impactful performances during the team’s Super Bowl run.
Patriots Targeting Ronnie Stanley, Jamien Sherwood; Team Has “Kicked Tires” On D.K. Metcalf
The Patriots are known to be targeting additions to the offensive and defensive lines this offseason, and new head coach Mike Vrabel has indicated his club will be active in free agency (after all, New England does have nearly $130MM in cap space, the most in the league by a comfortable margin). To that end, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports the Pats will aggressively pursue Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley should Stanley hit the open market.
Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald also hear that Stanley is one of New England’s top targets. Offensive line play was a major issue for the team in 2024, as the Pats finished 31st in Pro Football Focus’ metrics with respect to pass protection and last in run blocking. Stanley had struggled with injuries in recent years, and even when he was on the field, he did not look like the same player that earned a First Team All-Pro nod in 2019. After being forced to accept a $7.5MM pay cut in advance of the 2024 season, Stanley turned in a terrific platform campaign, landing his second Pro Bowl bid and playing a full complement of games for the first time in his career.
Naturally, the Ravens want Stanley back and have prioritized a new contract for him. However, the franchise tag is not considered as an option because of how it would hinder a team that is just outside the bottom-10 in cap room and because the $23.4MM tag number for O-linemen would set the floor in negotiations above where Baltimore is willing to go. New England reportedly values Stanley’s leadership and experience in big games in addition to his raw ability, and if Stanley and the Ravens cannot come to terms before the onset of free agency, Vrabel & Co. appear ready to pounce.
If their Stanley pursuit is unsuccessful, Callahan and Kyed say the Patriots are nonetheless comfortable with the Steelers’ Dan Moore or the Vikings’ Cam Robinson – a New England trade target at the 2024 deadline – as fallback plans (the team also had interest in the Rams’ Alaric Jackson before he re-upped with Los Angeles). And, even if they are able to acquire an established OT, the Pats will presumably not be done in their search for better protection for QB Drake Maye and their rushing attack
LSU OT Will Campbell is a real possibility for the Patriots’ No. 4 overall selection in April’s draft, with league evaluators seeing Campbell or Michigan DT Mason Graham as the most likely candidates for the pick. If QB-needy teams select both Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders before New England is on the clock, though, the Pats will have the opportunity to take one of the top non-QBs in the 2025 class (Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter or Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter).
Of that duo, Hunter is viewed as the more likely to fall to No. 4. As opposed to Carter, Hunter would not address the Pats’ top goal of bolstering their trenches, but beyond OL and DL help, the Boston Herald sees cornerback, wide receiver, and linebacker as the next positions of priority. Regardless of whether New England sees Hunter as a CB or wideout, the two-way blue-chipper would be a major get.
With respect to the linebacker need, the Patriots reportedly “covet” Jets LB Jamien Sherwood, particularly since he exhibits the speed and physicality that Vrabel is hoping to inject into his front seven. The 2021 fifth-rounder was mostly quiet through his first three professional seasons before bursting onto the scene in a big way in his walk year, starting 16 of New York’s 17 games while tallying 158 total tackles – including a league-leading 98 solo stops – and 10 tackles for loss while finishing as PFF’s 18th-best LB. The Jets and Sherwood have mutual interest in an extension, though it appears the Pats are eyeing the situation closely.
As for the WR position, there were several reports connecting the Patriots to Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins this offseason. Those reports were published before it became clear Cincinnati was prepared to put the franchise tag on Higgins for a second time. While a tag presumably remains a possibility, Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) reports the team has not told Higgins whether he will actually receive the tag before Tuesday’s deadline.
Nonetheless, sources tell Callahan and Kyed that Higgins will not be available (either as an FA or as a trade candidate). Should the Bengals change their mind on that front, the Patriots would be back in the mix, despite some conflicting reports to the contrary.
It has been said that the Patriots would explore trades for a WR, though the Boston Herald believes the team would prefer to address their need for a proven pass-catcher through free agency to avoid surrendering premium draft capital. The Bucs’ Chris Godwin would be a top target if Tampa Bay allows him to test the free agent waters, and on the trade front, the Pats have reportedly “kicked the tires” on the Seahawks’ D.K. Metcalf. It is presently unclear if those discussions gained any traction.
Given New England’s areas of need, it is not surprising that Callahan and Kyed – whose piece is well-worth a read for Pats fans in particular given its scope and comprehensiveness – name Eagles DT Milton Williams and 49ers CB Charvarius Ward as several of New England’s other top FA targets.
Zack Baun Wants To Stay With Eagles; Milton Williams Addresses Free Agency
The inside linebacker market has stagnated a bit since Fred Warner and Shaquille Leonard‘s paydays in 2021. Only one player — Roquan Smith — has since eclipsed those deals, and the market saw two of its top AAVs (C.J. Mosley and Foyesade Oluokun) drop due to extensions that brought pay cuts last year.
This year’s free agency period is unlikely to feature any true threats to eclipse Smith, but one ILB transformed his market thanks to a 2024 breakthrough. Zack Baun went from a largely unproductive edge rusher — and a player who researched special-teamers’ deals as comps going into free agency last year — to a first-team All-Pro. Baun almost completed the inverse of the Haason Reddick emergence, as the former Eagle revitalized his career after being moved from ILB to an edge role.
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Baun finished the season with 151 tackles, five forced fumbles and 3.5 sacks. He added a regular-season INT and a pivotal Super Bowl LIX pick, which set up the Eagles deep in Chiefs territory ahead of a second-quarter touchdown. Baun’s breakout year will generate an interesting market, as he is 28 and has no prior history of consistent play. This could make some teams hesitant, but Baun certainly proved he fits in Vic Fangio‘s scheme. And he would like to continue developing in Philadelphia.
“I’m curious. I don’t know what it’ll look like, honestly,” Baun said of his second crack at free agency (via PHLY’s Zach Berman). “…Hopefully it’s here. I love this place. I appreciate what they’ve done for my career and my family — just everything. I got a lot of options to weigh.”
The Eagles have some important defensive pieces nearing the market. Josh Sweat is chief among them, with Milton Williams also out of contract. Mekhi Becton joins Baun in being interested in staying with the Eagles, who saw both bargain-bin 2024 FA signings raise their values in helping Philly to its second Super Bowl championship. While Becton plays a higher-valued position, Baun was one of the NFL’s best defenders last season, getting there on a $3.5MM contract. He will be looking for a significant raise soon.
Last year’s market saw two eight-figure-per-year free agent ILB contracts handed out. The Texans gave Azeez Al-Shaair a three-year, $34MM deal; the Steelers signed off on a three-year, $41MM Patrick Queen pact. These contracts respectively check fifth and seventh among off-ball LBs. Considering Baun is 28 and just put together a first-team All-Pro season to help a team to a championship, it would seem reasonable he could target that price range.
Philly is projected to hold more than $18MM in cap space, a mid-pack number three-plus weeks ahead of the 2025 league year. The team’s creative 2024 maneuvering on offense showed an ability to afford a number of pricey extensions, as void years and option bonuses flood Howie Roseman‘s payroll. If the Eagles lose Baun, they would have a glaring need at linebacker thanks to Nakobe Dean having suffered a patellar tendon tear in the wild-card round. The team has not devoted much in the way of funds to this position in recent years, but Dean’s latest injury provides a complication.
Williams mentioned (via Berman) a desire to stay in a winning situation. That is often not prioritized by players seeking second contracts, as this window represents a key opportunity to cash in. The Eagles also have both Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis signed for multiple additional seasons, should the team pick up Davis’ fifth-year option by May. Williams could be an odd man out, as the Eagles figure to be saving up to extend the Georgia alums down the line. This could certainly mean Williams’ best offers will come from other teams, and the four-year veteran did add he would want “a situation to as close as this as possible.”
More than two years younger than Baun, Williams will be 26 by Week 1 of next season. He finished his contract year with career-high marks in sacks (five) and QB hits (10). Pass rush win rate slotted the former third-round pick sixth among interior D-linemen, who added two sacks and a forced fumble in Super Bowl LIX. Like Sweat, Baun and Becton, Williams made some money this past season.
Elsewhere on the Super Bowl champions’ roster, Landon Dickerson is likely to undergo knee surgery (via the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane). The Pro Bowl guard left the NFC championship game with a left knee malady and played through it in the Super Bowl. The Eagles have the All-Pro guard signed to a position-record $21MM-per-year deal.