Patriots placing key defensive standout Milton Williams on IR

New England Patriots

Williams suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Patriots’ win over the Jets on Thursday. He’ll miss at least four games.

Milton Williams thought he could play the entirety of the Patriots’ win over the Jets after injuring his ankle on Thursday. However, it turns out that the defensive tackle will be out for at least the next four weeks.

Williams is heading to injured reserve with his high ankle sprain, the team announced Saturday. With the move, Williams will miss the Patriots’ matchups against the Bengals, Giants, Bills, and Ravens.

Williams injured his ankle on the Jets’ opening drive when he collided with teammate Christian Barmore. The standout defensive tackle was clearly in pain, hobbling off the field before going down the locker room for further evaluation.

Shortly after, Williams was able to return to game action, but he remained in the locker room for the entirety of the second half. He seemed to be in good spirits, though, during the Patriots’ 27-14 win. He made a social media post after Barmore recorded a sack in the fourth quarter, and he was seen greeting teammates arriving in the locker room after the game.

Mike Vrabel also hinted in his postgame press conference that Williams might have played in the second half had the situation been different.

“I made a decision that we felt like we should probably just start treating that thing and get ahead of it and see where he’s at here tomorrow, the next couple of days and try to weigh,” Vrabel told reporters on Thursday. “Again, he wanted to try to go. He’s out here standing with me when guys are coming in, and he’s excited for them, so I appreciate his leadership, but I just made a decision that I felt like was best for the team for his instance.”

The Patriots’ next two games are against teams with losing records (at Bengals, vs. Giants). However, after their bye week, they’ll take on the Bills and Ravens in back to back matchups without their standout defensive lineman.

This season, Williams has recorded 27 total tackles and 3.5 sacks. Williams has also been one of the league’s best defensive tackles at generating pressure. His 14 percent pass-rush win rate was the third-best at the position entering Week 11, while Williams’s 35 pressures are the second-most among defensive tackles this season, per Pro Football Focus.

With Williams unavailable, New England will rely on Barmore and Khyiris Tonga to replace his presence up the middle. Tonga has gained notoriety for his plays as a fullback, but has seen his defensive snap count rise as well. Third-year defensive tackle Cory Durden was also called upon during Thursday night’s game, playing a season-high 59.6 percent of the Patriots’ defensive snaps against the Jets.