FOXBORO — Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams will be absent from the team’s facility “for the next few days,” head coach Mike Vrabel announced Wednesday.
Vrabel said the leave is “nothing related” to Williams’ health-related absence in March but that the first-year defensive coordinator will need to undergo some tests.
“We think it’s best, and I think it’s best that he focused on that, and we prepare for Miami with what we’ve been doing,” Vrabel said. “And we’ll talk to you a little bit later in the week, on Friday, about how the calling of the game will go defensively.”
Williams took an extended leave from the Patriots during the spring. Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr stepped up as interim defensive coordinator during OTAs and minicamp in Williams’ absence.
Vrabel said he Kuhr will work with the defensive staff. He also said that the issue with Williams came up early in the week after Sunday’s loss to the Raiders.
Williams, 51, was also helped off the field during a training camp practice this summer. The team said he was dealing with dehydration.
He was hired as defensive coordinator this offseason after spending the 2024 season as defensive line coach and run game coordinator with the Lions. He previously served as the Titans’ defensive line coach under Vrabel.
