Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams finished his fourth season in Philadelphia with a Super Bowl victory before taking his talents to free agency.
The penetrating DT said the whirlwind of the Lombardi lifting has “been crazy” as he’s poised to cash in after being a third-round pick in 2021.
“Obviously, I’d love to be back in Philadelphia,” Williams said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But right now, I’m just trying to enjoy this moment with my teammates. The rest of that is going to take care of itself. I’m pretty sure I’ll end up where I’m supposed to be. I’ll just put that in God’s hands.”
Philly has some cap space to try and keep Williams in town, but with teams always needing interior players who can push the pocket, the 25-year-old could get poached.
“Just being in the right situation,” Williams said. “Valuing what I bring to the table. Obviously, a raise. But I want to win. I like this feeling of winning and being on top of the world. So definitely want to try to get in a situation as close to this as possible.”
Most players talk about wanting to win, but with a short career span, getting paid tops it all. What’s to say that a new club can’t also climb the mountain top to the Super Bowl?
The 6-foot-3 Williams offers excellent burst and strength to get upfield, playing behind the line. The question for evaluators is, after being a rotational player for four seasons, can he handle the workload that would come with big money? With his career-high 5-sack 2024 season coming next to Jalen Carter, can he thrive against more double teams? -- Williams saw a 36.3% double-team rate in 2024, the fourth-highest on the Eagles, per Next Gen Stats, well behind Carter’s 50.1%.
“Wherever I end up, if it’s here or wherever, just get guys to buy into the togetherness and not being selfish and not hating on one another and fighting over who get the stats or the sacks or whatever,” Williams said. “Really, just being together.
“You saw in the Super Bowl, everybody was out there making plays. So when we’re all together, everybody playing free, fast, and we just want to win at the end of the day. That’s what we did.”
Williams picked the perfect time to have a career-best season as a key member of a championship team before hitting free agency. He should be one of the top defensive playmakers to hit the open market come March.