Running sprints is customary during the early phases of the NFL offseason. Seven-on-seven drills aren’t allowed, let alone full 11-on-11 reps. So the first few sessions together for a team are more about conditioning.
In Mike Vrabel’s first few practices with the New England Patriots this spring, sprints were part of the assignment. Down and back. Positions were given benchmark times to meet.
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When the interior defensive linemen were up, Milton Williams blew past everyone.
This offseason, the Patriots made Williams the highest-paid player in franchise history, signing him to a four-year, $104 million deal that comes with $63 million guaranteed. They loved the way he won with speed on the defensive line and envision playing him more than the Philadelphia Eagles did en route to their Super Bowl victory.
So it came as no surprise that Williams was well ahead of the other players at his position. He ran a blazing (for his spot on the field) 4.67-second 40-yard dash at the combine in 2021.
As Williams neared the proverbial finish line, he slowed down. He was well ahead of pace. He knew he was going to make it back in time and probably be the first to finish.
But in doing so, he caught the eye of Vrabel, who, in a telling moment, called out the 26-year-old during a routine conditioning drill of an optional practice.
“I was kind of like chilling until I got to the line,” Williams told reporters Tuesday. “He was like, ‘No, don’t let them catch you. If you can make it faster, make it.’ … Every rep since then, I’m trying to make sure I’m the first one back. I feel like it’s going to help me, just push me to where I want to be.”
Milton Williams tells the story of Mike Vrabel calling him out in the first week of the voluntary offseason program, and how he liked it.
Vrabel’s message to him: If you are going to be here, it’s on you to set the standard. pic.twitter.com/Z023zjyQZM
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) May 13, 2025
It’s certainly a risk to place too much importance on one anecdote from one non-football drill in the spring. But it does seem to be a good sign that Vrabel is willing to call out the team’s most prominent players — and that Williams seems so receptive to it.
There’s a lot on his plate, after all. The contract comes with the weight of high expectations. The Patriots are banking that even though Williams has never played more than 50 percent of his team’s defensive snaps, he can be a reliable and productive three-down player. That’s part of the reason conditioning is so important for him and the team this offseason.
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The plan is a bet that he and Christian Barmore can be major disruptors in the middle of the defensive line. The Patriots don’t have a dominant edge rusher. So they’re hoping that Williams and Barmore can push the pocket from the inside.
So far, the budding relationship between arguably the Patriots’ two most important defenders is off to a good start, Williams said. They have a friendly competition going on in which they race each other to the facility, seeing who gets there first.
“Every day we come in, we’ve got to set the tone,” Williams said of he and Barmore. “And everybody else will follow. Me and him can set the table for the defense.”
There’s a long way to go before we see how effective the Williams-Barmore duo can be — and whether the theory about pushing the pocket from the middle will work. Williams hasn’t even gone through a true practice with the Patriots yet.
But at the risk of putting too much stock into one spring moment, it’s promising that the team’s highest-paid player doesn’t mind getting called out by the head coach.
“He wants me to go fast and empty the tank every rep,” Williams said. “I like that. I don’t think I’m bigger than the next person. I don’t mind him calling me out. Calling me out is going to help the other guys. We have no excuses.”
(Photo: Eric Canha / Imagn Images)
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