Report: Former Eagles DL Milton Williams signing with Patriots

The New England Patriots are signing Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Milton Williams, according to multiple reports.

The deal spans four years and carries an average of $26 million per season, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport adds.

The news of Williams heading to New England comes after it was reported that the Carolina Panthers were inking a deal with the defensive lineman. That wasn’t the case, however, with the Arizona Cardinals among the teams still involved in contract talks with Williams before he landed on the Patriots.

Rejoining forces with Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon, who served as Williams’ defensive coordinator for two seasons in Philadelphia (2021-22), was high atop many Cardinals fans’ wish list.

During their time together in Philadelphia, Williams totaled six sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 12 QB hits in 34 games played (two starts).

But it was his most recent season with the Eagles that put his name high atop the list of highly sought after free agents.

Across 17 regular season games (seven starts), Williams amassed five sacks, seven tackles for loss and 10 QB hits. He followed up that stretch with a pair of sacks in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Milton Williams’ NFL resume before joining Patriots

The lineman entered the league as a third-round pick (No. 73 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft after three seasons at Louisiana Tech.

In four years with the Eagles, Williams missed just one game on his way to 67 (19 starts). During that span, he recorded 11.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss and 29 QB hits.

Cardinals’ in-house spending

The Cardinals missed out on Williams but still have made a handful of re-signings with Kelvin Beachum, Evan Brown, Baron Browning, Joey Blount and Aaron Brewer.

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