The Patriots honored Terrell Williams amid his prostate cancer battle by donning “T Strong” T-shirts during warmups on Sunday afternoon.
While it was nice to get a dominant win over the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium, Mike Vrabel doesn’t believe Sunday’s victory should be in the same conversation as what the defensive coordinator is going through.
“I don’t think that those things are really comparable,“ the coach said after the game. “We got one situation where somebody’s fighting and we’re playing a game. We care deeply about Terrell, and we’re gonna do everything that we can to help him and to support him and make sure that he gets what he needs and competes and fights. … That’s the big thing there.
“And then the other side of it is it’s just the game. … We’re here to win. But I don’t look at it like, ‘Oh, we have to win because this is the Crucial Catch (game),” Vrabel continued. “We just have to win so that we can continue to build a program that can withstand everything that goes on in this league.”
Vrabel shared the news of Williams’ cancer diagnosis on Friday and noted he started treatment and was meeting with specialists. Williams suffered a health scare during training camp and has been away from the team since Week 1.
In Williams’ absence, inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr has called defensive plays.
It’s unclear if Williams will return to the sidelines this season.