Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots will go up against one of the best teams in the NFL on Sunday night, but there are questions about one of their top players. Starting defensive lineman Milton Williams is nursing an ankle injury that kept him out of Thursday’s practice.
That is the bad news. The good news is that the injury is seemingly not considered to be “significant,” according to NFL Network’ Ian Rapoport.
Obviously, though, that phrasing leaves some room for interpretation, particularly as far the Patriots’ upcoming game versus the Buffalo Bills is concerned. Williams, after all, appears to be trending in the wrong direction as far as his availability is concerned: he was a limited participant during Wednesday’s practice before being downgraded on Thursday.
The Patriots will be back on the practice fields on Friday for their final practice of the week, and Williams will be a player to look out for. The team will then later release its final injury report of the week, including game statuses for Sunday. They will then hold a walkthrough on Saturday morning before flying to Buffalo in the afternoon.
Williams making the trip and suiting up on Sunday would be good news for a New England defense tasked with stopping arguably the most productive offense in football. Led by reigning league MVP Josh Allen, the Bills are a top tier team both in the passing and the running game.
Having the pairing of Williams and Christian Barmore patrol the middle of the defensive line would be crucial for the Patriots’ efforts to slow that attack down. If not, they would alternatively have to rely on a mix of Khyiris Tonga, Joshua Farmer, Cory Durden and Eric Gregory to hold down the fort next to Barmore.
Kickoff between the two AFC East rivals is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 5.
