{"id":63644,"date":"2025-03-17T12:52:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T16:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=63644"},"modified":"2025-03-17T12:52:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T16:52:23","slug":"patriots-make-a-big-splash-in-free-agency-eye-more-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/patriots-make-a-big-splash-in-free-agency-eye-more-moves\/63644\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots make a big splash in free agency, eye more moves"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"4659b13e-8371-4277-92d6-cb0a15962aa4\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert dark\">\n<p data-start=\"69\" data-end=\"234\">With the most spending power in the NFL and a roster full of gaps, the New England Patriots were bound to make major moves in free agency. And they wasted no time.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"236\" data-end=\"928\">Just hours into the legal tampering period, the Patriots landed a major defensive reinforcement, agreeing to a massive four-year, $104 million contract with defensive lineman Milton Williams. At 26, Williams was one of the standout performers during the Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 Super Bowl run. He posted the highest pressure rate among all defensive tackles in the league (12.5%), proving to be a relentless force up front. While his total sack numbers may not jump off the page, that\u2019s largely due to sharing snaps with Philadelphia\u2019s deep defensive line rotation. His 90.4 pass-rush grade from <em data-start=\"829\" data-end=\"849\">Pro Football Focus<\/em> is a much better indicator of the kind of disruption he brings to the field.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"930\" data-end=\"1228\">The Patriots also made strategic additions in veteran cornerback Carlton Davis and former Pro Bowl linebacker Harold Landry, but Williams was undoubtedly the crown jewel of their free-agent haul. Many analysts, including ESPN\u2019s Mike Tannenbaum, believe this was the best signing of the offseason.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1230\" data-end=\"1601\">\u201cSure, $26 million per year is a hefty price tag,\u201d Tannenbaum said. \u201cBut finding a 26-year-old with elite interior pass-rushing skills is rare. His sack numbers (11.5 in 67 games) don\u2019t tell the full story. Under Mike Vrabel\u2019s system, Williams has the potential to take his game to a whole new level and become a cornerstone of the Patriots\u2019 defense for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1603\" data-end=\"2013\">With a major defensive playmaker now in place, the Patriots are expected to shift their focus to improving their offense\u2014specifically, building a strong supporting cast around second-year quarterback Drake Maye. They hold the fourth overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and have been linked to top prospects like University of Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2015\" data-end=\"2200\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">While the Patriots still have plenty of work to do, their aggressive approach in free agency signals that they\u2019re ready to fast-track their rebuild and get back into playoff contention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the most spending power in the NFL and a roster full of gaps, the New England Patriots were bound\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":63645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[24877],"class_list":["post-63644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-patriots"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}