Panthers Exec: No Milton Williams Agreement Occurred..
One of the top storylines coming out of the legal tampering period involved Milton Williams, who was viewed as close to committing to the Panthers before a monster Patriots offer came in. The Patriots ended up using their league-leading cap-space figure to outmuscle the Panthers, but Carolina’s agreement with the top-tier free agent does not appear to have crossed the goal line.
Williams has said he was deep in negotiations with the Panthers, but Carolina executive VP of football ops Brandt Tilis said (the Charlotte Observer’s Mike Kaye) the team never believed it had a deal done. Although Tilis said Williams’ agent never provided an indication the defensive tackle was Carolina-bound, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the sides were working to finalize a deal hours into the tampering period.
As for Williams’ account, he did begin to anticipate heading to Charlotte — but a better New England offer emerged soon after. As could be expected, PFR’s No. 3 overall free agent received a few offers. The Panthers were indeed one of them, but the Patriots’ four-year, $104MM contract (including $51MM guaranteed at signing) won out.
“They were on the phone talking to teams, and teams were coming in with new deals. There was a lot going on, and it happened really fast,” Williams said of his camp during an NFL Network appearance (h/t NFL.com’s Kevin Patra). “They talked about Carolina then and I was like, ‘Alright, it sounds like the best offer we are going to get, so, we were going to go there.’ Then, a split second later, New England hopped on and was like, ‘Nah, this is what we got for you.’ Carolina felt like they went too high on their number, so, they stayed at where they were at.”
The Patriots are indeed betting big on Williams, who cemented a contract-year breakthrough with a two-sack showing in Super Bowl LIX. The Eagles have lost two of their pass rushers from that game, with Josh Sweat joining the Cardinals. Williams, 26 next week, finished as Pro Football Focus’ top-rated interior pass rusher last season. ESPN’s pass rush win rate slotted Williams sixth in 2024, a five-sack seasons that included 10 QB hits and seven tackles for loss. This commanded a lucrative market, as Williams led the way among all 2025 free agents in fully guaranteed money.
While Williams will team with Christian Barmore in New England, Carolina allocated funds elsewhere along its D-line. The team added nose tackle Bobby Brown (three years, $21MM) and then spent for an interior pass rusher in Tershawn Wharton. The latter did not bring the market Williams did, as little production transpired before last season, but the ex-Chief still commanded a three-year, $45.1MM deal that came with an impressive $30MM at signing. A former UDFA out of Division II Missouri S&T, Wharton will be counted on to supply a pass rush in line with his 2024 work (6.5 sacks, 11 QB hits). Benefiting from playing alongside future Hall of Famer Chris Jones, Wharton will have Derrick Brown to play alongside next season.
