Pats DC Williams diagnosed with prostate cancer

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots first-year defensive coordinator Terrell Williams has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, coach Mike Vrabel said Friday.

Vrabel said the 51-year-old Williams is in the process of undergoing treatment and meeting with specialists "to figure out the best plan to be able to attack this and heal it and allow him to get back to better health. Our medical staff and the people in this town have been fantastic to help him and get him started with that process."

The Patriots will proceed with inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr as their defensive playcaller for the third straight week, according to Vrabel, with Williams around the team as much as he can be.

Williams coached under Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans from 2018 to '23. The two reunited in New England this offseason after the team hired Vrabel as its head coach.

"This is a hard business. This is tough," Vrabel said. "When you do this, you have to have people that you trust implicitly, that are loyal. He's been that. He has an ability to reach everybody, and it always kept me in perspective."

Williams called the defense in the team's 20-13 season-opening loss to the Las Vegas Raiders but stepped away from the full-time role in the ensuing days due to the prostate cancer diagnosis.

In March, he also had an unrelated "health scare" while visiting Detroit that led to him coaching the defense remotely throughout the spring. He had returned for training camp in mid-July, and the bonds he formed with players were noted by those in the locker room.

"He is a stand-up dude and a good coach who was always holding us accountable, and always making the game fun, priding us on playing hard, playing for each other," veteran safety Jaylinn Hawkins said. "Stuff like this happens and it's like, 'Damn.' It's really sad."

Williams has served as a mentor to the 37-year-old Kuhr.

"T is always a big part of what we do," Kuhr said earlier this week. "I just want him to know we are always thinking about him. Us as a staff, as a defense, he has a big impact on that."

Vrabel said assistant coach Vinny DePalma, in his second year with the franchise and a former linebacker at Boston College, has been taking on more responsibility with linebackers as Kuhr's responsibilities have grown in Williams' absence. The overall transition with the defensive coaching staff has been smooth, according to Vrabel.

"I felt like that went well -- the communication through the week, the organization, hasn't missed a beat whatsoever," he said. "I think those guys are doing a great job over there."

The Patriots (1-2) host the Carolina Panthers (1-2) on Sunday.