Milton Williams urged to leave Eagles for ex-coordinator

After really hitting his peak for the Philadelphia Eagles during the playoffs, consistently beating his man on the way to seven tackles, two QB hits, and two sacks postseason, Milton Williams is about to get paid.

Sure, he’s never played more than 50 percent of the Eagles’ snaps in a season, sure, his sack total isn’t exactly elite, and sure, there’s some projection that goes into pursuing the former third-round pick out of Louisiana Tech. But after watching Tee Higgins and Trey Smith get franchise-tagged, some consider Williams the best player available in free agency, with a massive contract coming his way to justify that reputation.

Could Williams return to Philadelphia? Maybe yes, maybe no, but one thing is clear: the market is going to be hot for the Philly product, with Zoltán Buday of PFF urging Williams to take his talents to the Arizona Cardinals, where he could get paid like a top guy to reunite with his former defensive coordinator, Jonathan Gannon, in the desert.

“Arizona’s defense generated a pressure on just 30.9 percent of pass plays in 2024, which ranked only 27th in the NFL. Furthermore, their interior defenders combined to earn a 54.3 PFF pass-rushing grade, which ranked 28th in the league,” Buday wrote.

“The Cardinals desperately need to upgrade their pass rush, both outside and on the interior. While Milton Williams might not be a complete interior defender due to some struggles against the run, he more than makes up for it with his pass-rushing production. In fact, his 91.7 PFF pass-rushing grade in 2024 led all interior defenders in the NFL. His connection to Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon – who used to be Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator – just makes this an even better fit for Williams.”

Now granted, the idea of Williams landing in Arizona is nothing new, as both he and Josh Sweat have been heavily linked to the Cardinals due to the Gannon connection pretty much since the Super Bowl came to an end. And yet, with no guarantee that the Cardinals will pay up for Williams’ services – even if Gannon is a massive fan of the player dating back to the draft – one thing is clear: Williams is about to have one of the most interesting offseasons of any player on the free agent market.