The Patriots’ cross-country flight Sunday for Super Bowl week will have a presence the team has been missing for most of the season.
Defensive coordinator Terrell Williams has been declared cancer-free after being diagnosed with prostate cancer on Sept. 11 and, after not traveling with the team all season, will be on the plane as the Pats prepare for Super Bowl 2026 against the Seahawks next Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.
“All of the doctors, all of the nurses at Mass General, and everyone that’s taken blood samples, all the people there, they’re so important and good at what they do. I appreciate those guys,” Williams, 51, told the Boston Herald. “And I appreciate this organization and the people of New England. When I say that, I mean it. I’m just shocked at how kind the people are up here. And it’s been unbelievable.
“Hopefully, we can bring a smile to their faces on Sunday.”
Williams found out the great news in mid-January, days before the Patriots’ divisional-round win over the Texans, according to the Herald. Head coach Mike Vrabel told his players the news before that game.
“Man, it was hard to see him go through what he went through, but everything ended up working out. God’s got his hand on him, and he’s blessed to be out of that situation,” Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams told the Herald. “So him coming back, it’s big for our team to continue to play hard for him and play hard for each other.”
Williams first experienced what was believed to be a stomach flu after the Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Raiders on Sept. 7 before being diagnosed with cancer; doctors first thought it was lymphoma, per the Herald.
“It had spread all through my body: up in my collarbone, hips, groin, through my legs. It was all over, and it was super aggressive,” Williams said. “And that’s why they thought it was something else.”
The first-year Patriots coordinator assumed the worst upon hearing the diagnosis.
“Like a lot of people, when I hear cancer, I automatically think death. That was just in my head,” Williams told the Herald. “And it was like, ‘OK, am I dying? What’s this gonna look like? What’s the treatment gonna look like? Am I gonna be really sick? All these things were running through my head. And how do we navigate this with the team?’
“Everything was going through my head. But the number one thing for me was my health.”
Williams worked with Vrabel for all six of the head coach’s seasons leading the Titans, where Williams was a defensive line coach and added assistant head coach duties in 2023.
While Vrabel sat out the 2024 season, Williams was the defensive line coach and run game coordinator for the Lions.
Now, after a harrowing four months, Williams will coach in his first Super Bowl.
