At the start of the free agency negotiating period, defensive tackle Milton Williams was reportedly “working to finalize” a deal with the Panthers. Hours later, he agreed to a deal with the Patriots.

So what happened?

Williams told NFL Media that just as a deal with the Panthers was about to be agreed upon, the Patriots called with a better deal.

“My agent was on the phone, and I was kind of in the room,” he said. “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 Patriots’ offer guaranteed Williams $51 million at signing, and he was eager to sign it.