New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel sent a clear message to Milton Williams ahead of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
The Patriots went out and signed Williams to a four-year, $104 million contract this offseason, after he spent four years with the Philadelphia Eagles, including winning the Super Bowl last season.
Williams has been a key part of the Patriots’ defensive line, and Vrabel is glad the team signed him in free agency. Yet, Vrabel knows Williams needs to have a great game on Sunday for New England to advance to the Super Bowl.
“We knew we needed to supplement the roster and targeted some guys, got some guys, didn’t get some guys,” Vrabel said on Wednesday. “We decided to add Milt. The person, quality person. I think the play speaks for itself. We have high expectations for everybody, but certainly Milt. It’s good to have him back out there. It’s helped in a lot of phases, a lot of areas. In the run game, he had some really nice plays last week, affecting the quarterback.
“We talked about on the interception return, his push kind of started it, knocking the guy back into the tight end. So, we’ll need everybody, including Milt. We’ll need their best efforts this week. Again, that’s kind of where it went last year. You target guys, and some guys you get, some guys you don’t.”
Williams had just one tackle against the Houston Texans, but he did help limit Houston’s run game.
So, Vrabel expects Williams to continue the success he’s had this season to help the Patriots advance to the Super Bowl.
Kick-off for New England’s AFC Championship Game against Denver is set for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
