Eagles Super Bowl Star Always Wanted to Stay in Philly

The Philadelphia Eagles' defense looked a bit different in 2025.

Philadelphia had to find a way to replace the production of guys like Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Darius Slay and CJ Gardner-Johnson, among others. That's a lot of talent out the door in one offseason. The Eagles added guys, like Jaelan Phllips during the season, and still had one of the better defenses in football overall, but still that was a lot of talent out the door.

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The Super Bowl will take place on Sunday between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks and one of these guys will have a chance at his second straight ring. Williams, who signed a four-year, $104 million deal with New England, unsurprisingly has been good throughout the season. He was good in Philadelphia, too. Last year, he had five sacks in the regular season. What made him stand out even more, though, was his performance in Super Bowl LIX. This is a guy who had two sacks in the biggest game of his life — to that point — and helped Philadelphia get past the Kansas City Chiefs.

The former Eagles star didn't want to leave

Feb 5, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots defensive end Milton Williams (97) talks to media members at the Santa Clara Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Ahead of the Super Bowl, Williams opened up about his exit from Philadelphia while speaking to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"That was when all the players sign the Super Bowl merch,” Williams said McLane. “[Roseman’s message] was like, ‘Get the most you can.’ Once I heard that — and meanwhile I was talking to my agent about the deal — I thought, ‘They’re probably not going to offer.’” (Through an Eagles spokesman, [Howie Roseman] confirmed the exchange occurred.)

"... We had just won a Super Bowl. Of course I didn’t want to leave,” Williams continued. “But I got to do what’s best for me. They had their agenda of what they wanted to accomplish, and I wasn’t part of it. So they let me go.”

For the Eagles, they were fortunate to have Moro Ojomo ready to fill in. The 24-year-old didn't record a sack across his first two seasons and then with an increased role in 2025, racked up six. It's unfortunate that things didn't work out with Williams, but at least both sides benefitted.

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