The Patriots have been without their lead defensive play-caller for almost the entirety of the 2025 season.
New England defensive coordinator Terrell Williams was diagnosed with prostate cancer early in the year. He left the team to undergo treatment for his diagnosis ahead of Week 2.
The Patriots haven’t skipped a beat in the weeks and months after his exit. Their defense, spearheaded by All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez, ranks as one of football’s finest, propelling New England to an AFC championship game berth.
That doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten about their beloved defensive coordinator, though. New England carries him on its chest — quite literally.
With that, here’s what you need to know about “T-Strong”, the shirts Patriots coaches and players have worn to pay homage to Williams’ fight.
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T-Strong t-shirts meaning
Vrabel and other members of his coaching staff have sported shirts that featured “T-Strong.” The term is a reference to New England’s defensive coordinator, Terrell Williams, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier in the season.
“We just gotta get into a rhythm.” – Mike Vrabel with our @EvanWashburn at the half pic.twitter.com/oVXgkB2Xbk
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 25, 2026
Williams took a leave of absence to undergo treatment for the illness in Sept. 2025. Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr has filled in as the Patriots defensive play-caller. Williams returned to New England’s practice facility ahead of the Patriots’ wild-card bout with the Chargers. He hasn’t been cleared to return to the sideline just yet, though.
Williams and Vrabel have a long-standing relationship, with the former joining the latter’s coaching staff when he was head coach of the Titans in 2018. Williams served as Tennessee’s defensive line coach and assistant head coach before Vrabel was fired following the 2023 season. In 2024, he joined the Lions‘ coaching staff as run game coordinator and defensive line coach.
