Patriots' defensive tackle Milton Williams went down early in the 27-14 win over the Jets, briefly returned, and lobbied to keep playing, but Mike Vrabel shut him down, calling it a precaution and praising Williams’ leadership on the sideline while trainers began treating the ankle.
Per Ian Rapoport, New England is placing him on Injured Reserve with a high-ankle sprain suffered Thursday night. He attempted to return, but the club held him out, and the expectation is a 4–6 week timeline before he’s back.
That IR move buys the Patriots roster flexibility while they navigate a tricky stretch for their interior front. Williams has been a tone-setter inside, piling up pressures and occupying double teams that free rush lanes for teammates.
High-ankle sprains are notorious for sapping explosiveness, so shelving him now rather than chasing week-to-week availability aligns with a long-view approach to January.
It also forces the depth chart to answer the bell. Elijah Ponder and the rotational tackles will see elevated snaps, with Christian Barmore’s usage likely spiking in high-leverage downs.
New England’s run fits held up late against New York, but sustaining that without Williams’ anchor will be the test, especially as opponents lean into wide-zone and gap schemes to stress the edges and force interior pursuit.
One encouraging note is that the bye-and-home stretch around the Bengals matchup offers a little calendar cushion. If Williams tracks to the short end of the estimate, he could rejoin for the playoff push with enough runway to regain timing and pad level.
If it’s closer to six weeks, the priority becomes getting him right rather than rushing a compromised version back onto the field.
ESPN reporting earlier in the weekend framed it as a multi-week absence even before the IR decision, reinforcing that the medical staff would err on the side of caution with a high-ankle sprain. So, they need to protect a core piece now to preserve peak effectiveness when it matters most in December and beyond.
