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Reports of a deal with defensive tackle Milton Williams were greatly exaggerated, at least according to Carolina Panthers executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis.
The legal tampering period, or the unofficial start of free agency, seemed to begin with a bang for the Panthers—who were quickly connected to the coveted 25-year-old defender. Multiple reporters indicated that Carolina and Williams were finalizing an agreement back on the afternoon of Monday, March 10.
But that wasn't the case.
Williams, rather, ended up striking a deal with the New England Patriots shortly after those early reports.
So, what happened?
"In free agency, things tend to move fast," Tilis stated on Wednesday when asked of the negotiations. "And so, we have scenarios planned out ahead of time as far as acquiring this group of players, that group of players. So when the Milton thing didn't go our way, we were just following a plan. And even during the frenzy, whatever it was, we never felt like we had an agreement with Milton. His agent never gave us that indication. So we were just operating our plan."
That plan saw the Panthers pivot to four other defenders that day—as the team reached pacts with safety Tre'von Moehrig, outside linebacker Pat Jones II and defensive linemen Bobby Brown III and Tershawn Wharton.
Williams himself has also commented on the link to Carolina.
"My agent was on the phone, and I was kind of in the room," Williams said on NFL Insiders this past Friday. "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. 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. New England came in, and it was [over] after that. They wanted me the most and made me a priority. So, I made them a priority."
The former Philadelphia Eagle and Super Bowl LIX standout landed a four-year, $104 million contract from the Patriots, which has made him the third-highest paid interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers 'never felt' like they had an agreement with Milton Williams
Continue reading...
The legal tampering period, or the unofficial start of free agency, seemed to begin with a bang for the Panthers—who were quickly connected to the coveted 25-year-old defender. Multiple reporters indicated that Carolina and Williams were finalizing an agreement back on the afternoon of Monday, March 10.
But that wasn't the case.
Williams, rather, ended up striking a deal with the New England Patriots shortly after those early reports.
So, what happened?
"In free agency, things tend to move fast," Tilis stated on Wednesday when asked of the negotiations. "And so, we have scenarios planned out ahead of time as far as acquiring this group of players, that group of players. So when the Milton thing didn't go our way, we were just following a plan. And even during the frenzy, whatever it was, we never felt like we had an agreement with Milton. His agent never gave us that indication. So we were just operating our plan."
That plan saw the Panthers pivot to four other defenders that day—as the team reached pacts with safety Tre'von Moehrig, outside linebacker Pat Jones II and defensive linemen Bobby Brown III and Tershawn Wharton.
Williams himself has also commented on the link to Carolina.
"My agent was on the phone, and I was kind of in the room," Williams said on NFL Insiders this past Friday. "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. 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. New England came in, and it was [over] after that. They wanted me the most and made me a priority. So, I made them a priority."
The former Philadelphia Eagle and Super Bowl LIX standout landed a four-year, $104 million contract from the Patriots, which has made him the third-highest paid interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers 'never felt' like they had an agreement with Milton Williams
Continue reading...
