The New England Patriots spent more than $200 million in free agency to shore up their defense on Monday, reportedly adding defensive tackle Milton Williams, cornerback Carlton Davis and linebacker Robert Spillane.
Fresh off a Super Bowl championship with the Eagles, Williams agreed to a four-year deal worth $104 million, ESPN reported. Davis agreed to a three-year, $60 million contract ($34.5 million fully guaranteed) and Spillane agreed to a contract for three years and $37.5 million ($20.6 million guaranteed), per ESPN.
On the other side of the ball, New England also agreed to a three-year, $24 million deal with right tackle Morgan Moses.
Williams, 25, recorded a career-high five sacks in 17 games (seven starts) for the Eagles in the regular season. He sacked Patrick Mahomes twice in the 40-22 win against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Williams was reportedly on the verge of taking a four-year, $82 million deal with the Panthers before the Patriots’ offer of $26 million per season made him the third-highest-paid interior defender in the NFL. He trails only Chris Jones of the Chiefs and Christian Wilkins of the Raiders.
Williams recorded 11.5 sacks and 132 tackles in 67 games (19 starts) with Philadelphia since being drafted in the third round in 2021.
Adding Davis addresses the secondary and a focus of the new defense being implemented by head coach Mike Vrabel, who can pair the physical and aggressive veteran with left cornerback Christian Gonzalez in 2025.
Davis, 28, was acquired by the Lions before the 2024 season but finished his lone season in Detroit on injured reserve with a broken jaw.
A self-described lockdown corner, Davis is a top-end competitor with the size to line up at multiple positions in New England’s scheme.
Spillane, 29, is a former Titans linebacker under Vrabel and an ex-teammate of outside linebacker Harold Landry, who agreed to join the Patriots after being released by Tennessee last week.
He led the Raiders with a career-high 158 tackles and had two sacks and two interceptions in 2024.
Moses reportedly reached agreement on a three-year, $24 million contract. The 34-year-old spent last season with the Jets and has also played for the Washington Commanders (2014-20) and Baltimore Ravens (2022-23). He was drafted by Washington in 2014 and has started at least 14 games in every season since 2015 with 166 total games played in 11 seasons.
–Field Level Media
