The Patriots' highly touted defense worked through their first week of OTAs without a key voice on the practice field. Terrell Williams, who was brought in to serve as the team's defensive coordinator this season, was absent from OTAs due to a previous health scare.
According to a MassLive report, head coach Mike Vrabel did not have any updates on Williams' condition, but is optimistic that the defensive coordinator will be back in Foxboro soon.
The Patriots made multiple moves to make their defense better this offseason, and while not having their defensive coordinator present at OTAs would usually be worrisome, it's nothing that the team should be super concerned about.
Defense's growth should not be impacted by Williams' absence
When you have a bunch of new faces on a defense as the Patriots do, it occasionally takes time for that unit to grow, and not having their coordinator around doesn't help.
However, the offseason is still young, and with Vrabel optimistic that Williams will return to the team sooner rather than later, there's no reason to panic about the defense's growth.
Williams needs to take advantage of this time to take care of himself, and Christian Elliss told MassLive that Williams has communicated with his players via Zoom on a daily basis. Fortunately, this new wave of technology enables Williams to maintain his health and perform his job in specific capacities. Williams has not disclosed what his condition was.
If an absence of this magnitude were occurring during training camp, there would be reason for concern. However, the Patriots only have a couple more weeks of OTAs left before taking a brief break. If Williams returns to Gillette Stadium by the time training camp opens in July, that would be a significant win.
As long as Williams continues to communicate with his players, there's no reason to worry about the cohesion of the defense. The regular season is still three months away, so that's plenty of time.