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The Patriots will keep an eye on his progress this week.
FOXBOROUGH ― Patriots defensive lineman Milton Williams returned to practice on Tuesday, starting the clock for his return.
Players coming off of injured reserve must be activated for game action within a 21-day window, or else they return to the IR list for the rest of the season.
Williams has been out since Nov. 13 with a high ankle sprain. He missed four games and the Patriots went 3-1 during that span.
With two regular-season games left and the playoffs approaching, the Patriots are taking the first steps toward Williams’s return. They’ll keep an eye on how he handles his workload this week.
“I think we’ll start his window, see how he responds through the week of practice and go from there,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “I know he worked extremely hard, off with the strength and conditioning staff, with the training staff and involved in meetings.”
“So, that’s really hard to do, is to be engaged in meetings when you know you’re not going to play and have some time. And so, appreciate what he’s done here, his leadership and his willingness to try to get back.”
At first, Williams didn’t think the injury was as bad as it wound up being. He tried to play through the injury during the Thursday night win against the Jets last month, but the coaching staff eventually sat him down.
“I tried to come back, but when you watch it, I was kind of favoring it and dragging it a little bit,” Williams said. “Then, after halftime, it just got stiff on me. I could hardly push off of it anymore, so I hopped on the treatment, went to see the docs to see what was going on and just stuck to the plan.”
This week, the ankle is feeling better, Williams told reporters while speaking at his locker.
“Feeling good,” Williams said. “It’s going to be good to get back out there to practice, see how I respond. If it all goes well, it will be a good thing for the Patriots.”
This stretch was the first time that Williams, 26, had spent on injured reserve. He played in 67 of 68 possible games during his four seasons with the Eagles. He played the first 11 games of this season before the sprained ankle sidelined him.
Watching the Patriots play without him was tough, he said, but sticking to the doctors’ plans and focusing on his recovery was the priority.
Sitting on the couch and watching games wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t hurt, he said, but knowing that he was missing the opportunity to impact games made it tough.
“It was hard not being out there. I’ve been telling the guys, don’t take it for granted, being out there,” Williams said. “Sometimes you’re tired and you don’t feel like going out there, but then when you’re not out there it’s like ‘Dang, I wish I could practice,’ or ‘I wish I could be out there with the guys.”
“I just tell them to never take it for granted, and when you’re out there, make sure you’re doing everything that you can do to be productive and represent this organization.”
Sticking to protocol
The Patriots have three players in concussion protocol this week.
Running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, and offensive lineman Jared Wilson are going through the process.
The Patriots will have a better idea of where things stand with those players later in the week, Vrabel said.
“Everybody’s been getting treatment. We got back late,” Vrabel said. “So, [Tuesday] will be a good opportunity just to see a little bit of activity, walkthrough. But get guys up, moving around. A couple of guys in the protocol. And again, I would say that those are the guys that you’re most conscious of from just a mental wellbeing and not getting frustrated by how they feel.”
“I tell everybody the same thing. Just be honest with how you’re feeling. Talk to the doctors, talk to the trainer. We do an evaluation every day. We do a symptom score. So, I think those are the ones that you want to just try to focus on.”
The desire to come back and play is something that the players have had in them since they began playing the game, Vrabel said. But, sometimes they’re unable to go, and how quickly they return can vary from player to player.
“The guys that have an ankle or whatever it might be, a knee, they’re going to be okay,” Vrabel said. “Sometimes any of these things that relate to concussions can react differently and there’s no pre-described amount of time that they’re going to be out.”
OL Brenden Jaimes promoted
The Patriots signed offensive lineman Brenden Jaimes off the practice squad to the 53-man roster. In a corresponding move, the team placed rookie defensive tackle Joshua Farmer on IR.
Farmer, a fourth-round draft pick out of Florida State, suffered a hamstring injury early in Sunday night’s win at Baltimore. He departed in the first quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
James, 26, was signed to the Patriots practice squad Sept. 1 and the 6-foot-5-inch, 300-pounder was twice elevated for games against the Panthers Sept. 28 and the Giants Dec. 1, seeing action on special teams.
In addition, the Patriots signed 5-10, 215-pound running back Elijah Mitchell and 6-1, 218-pound wide receiver Brandon Smith to the practice squad and released offensive tackle Sebastian Gutierrez.
