Patriots coach Mike Vrabel chose to be proactive. After defensive tackle Milton Williams turned his ankle on the game’s opening drive, he briefly returned to Thursday’s win over the Jets in the second quarter.
But then Vrabel thought better of it and shut him down for the rest of the night.
Vrabel was asked if Williams could have returned if the situation warranted it.
“Maybe,” Vrabel said. “I made a decision that felt like we should start treating that thing and get ahead of it and see where he is tomorrow and in the next couple of days.
“He wanted to try to go,” Vrabel added. “I made a decision I thought was best for the team for his instance.”
Williams appeared to turn his ankle when he stepped teammate Christian Barmore on the sixth play of the Jets’ opening drive. He went to the sideline, then the medical tent and briefly into the locker room.
He returned in the second quarter and tried to play. But with the Patriots off for the next nine days, Vrabel leaned toward the bigger picture in hopes of having him healthy or at least healthier when New England travels to Cincinnati on Nov. 23.
Vrabel praised Williams’ demeanor and leadership on the sideline as for the rest of the game.
Vrabel has been adamant about not looking too far ahead, but at 9-2, they might already have won enough games to reach the playoffs and one more victory would almost certainly clinch a spot.
Williams, who signed a $104 million contract with the Patriots as a free agent, has been a key part of New England’s NFL best run defense and a respected leader on for the young squad.
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