During the pre-draft process, Milloy met with the New England Patriots' secondary coach
Bill Belichick. Milloy was projected to be a first or second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was considered to be one of the top three safety prospects available in the draft, along with Memphis safety Jerome Woods and
Texas Tech safety
Marcus Coleman.
New England Patriots The
New England Patriots selected Milloy in the second round (36th overall) of the
1996 NFL draft. Milloy was the second safety drafted in 1996, behind
Memphis safety
Jerome Woods (28th overall).
1996 Throughout training camp, Milloy competed to be the starting strong safety against
Terry Ray. Milloy impressed the Patriots' coaching staff during the preseason and was able to make a case for the starting role. Defensive backs coach
Bill Belichick lobbied for Milloy to be the starter, but head coach
Bill Parcells opted to name Terry Ray the starting strong safety to begin the regular season instead. He made his professional regular season debut in the
New England Patriots' 24–10 loss at the
Miami Dolphins. Milloy surpassed Terry Ray on the depth chart and earned the starting strong safety position after Week 7. On October 20, 1996, Milloy earned his first career start and recorded seven combined tackles and forced the first fumble of his career in the Patriots' 27–9 win at the
Indianapolis Colts in Week 8. On November 17, 1996, Milloy collected a season-high 12 combined tackles and made his first career interception during a 34–8 loss to the
Denver Broncos in Week 12. In Week 15, he recorded three combined tackles and made his first career sack during a 34–10 win against the
New York Jets. Milloy made his first career sack on Jets' backup quarterback
Glenn Foley for a seven-yard loss in the third quarter. He finished his rookie season in
1996 with 82 combined tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a sack in 16 games and ten starts. The following week, he made seven combined tackles as the Patriots defeated the
Jacksonville Jaguars 20–6 in the
AFC Championship Game.
1997 On February 11, 1997, it was reported that New England Patriots' head coach
Bill Parcells had accepted the General Manager/Head coaching position with the
New York Jets after both teams agreed to a deal. Head coach
Pete Carroll named Milloy the starting strong safety to start the regular season, alongside free safety
Willie Clay and cornerbacks
Jimmy Hitchcock and
Ty Law. On November 16, 1997, Milloy collected a season-high 12 combined tackles during a 27–7 at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12. The following week, he tied his season-high of 12 combined tackles as the Patriots defeated the
Miami Dolphins 27–24 in Week 13. He started in all 16 games in
1997 and recorded 112 combined tackles, three interceptions, and forced two fumbles. The
New England Patriots finished atop the AFC East with a 10–6 record in their first season under Carroll. On January 3, 1998, Milloy recorded ten combined tackles in the Patriots' 7–6 loss at the
Pittsburgh Steelers in the
AFC Divisional Round.
1998 Head coach Pete Carroll retained Milloy and Willie Clay as the starting safeties in 1998. On September 20, Milloy recorded nine combined tackles and returned an interception for his first career touchdown during a 27–16 win against the
Tennessee Oilers in Week 3. Milloy intercepted a pass by Oilers' quarterback
Steve McNair intended for
Yancy Thigpen and returned it for a 30-yard touchdown to seal the Patriots' victory in the fourth quarter. In Week 16, he collected a season-high 14 combined tackles during a 24–21 win against the
San Francisco 49ers. He started all 16 games in
1998 and recorded 120 combined tackles, a career-high six interceptions, a sack, and a touchdown. Milloy was selected to the
1999 Pro Bowl, the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
1999 Carroll named Milloy and
Chris Carter the starting safeties in 1999, alongside cornerbacks Ty Law and
Steve Israel. On October 24, Milloy collected a season-high 14 combined tackles during a 24–23 win against the
Denver Broncos in Week 7. Milloy started in all 16 games in
1999 and recorded 120 combined tackles, made four interceptions, and two sacks. Milloy was selected to the
2000 Pro Bowl and was widely regarded as the top safety in the league during the season.
2000 On January 3, 2000, the New England Patriots fired head coach Pete Carroll after the Patriots finished with an 8–8 record the previous season. On January 27, the Patriots announced former
New York Jets' defensive coordinator Bill Belichick as their new head coach. The Patriots traded three draft picks to the
New York Jets to hire Belichick, who was supposed to be the successor at head coach for the Jets after
Bill Parcells. Belichick was Milloy's position coach as a rookie and was instrumental in the Patriots' decision to draft Milloy in 1996. Milloy was asked about Belichick by Patriots' owner
Robert Kraft and stated he admired him and highly recommended Kraft hire him as the new head coach as he thought Belichick could be a great coach and could take the organization where it needed to go. Belichick also served as defensive coordinator in 2001 and hired
Eric Mangini to be the defensive backs coach. On February 10, 2000, the New England Patriots signed Milloy to a seven-year,
$35 million
contract that included a
signing bonus of $6 million. His contract made him the highest paid safety in the league. Belichick named Milloy the starting strong safety to start the season, alongside free safety
Tebucky Jones. On November 19, Milloy collected a season-high 13 combined tackles, forced a fumble, and also made an interception during the Patriots' 16–13 win against the
Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12. Milloy intercepted a pass by Bengals' quarterback
Scott Mitchell intended for tight end
Tony McGee and was quickly tackled by offensive tackle
Willie Anderson. Milloy started all 16 games in
2000 and made a total of 117 combined tackles, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions.
2001 The New England Patriots hired former
Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator
Romeo Crennel as their defensive coordinator in 2001. Crennel opted to retain Milloy and Tebucky Jones as the starting safeties. Milloy and Jones started alongside cornerbacks
Ty Law and
Otis Smith in 2001. In Week 6, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles (nine solo) during a 38–17 victory at the
Indianapolis Colts. On November 25, 2001, Milloy tied a season-high of ten combined tackles (five solo), deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass by Saints' quarterback
Aaron Brooks as the Patriots defeated the
New Orleans Saints 34–17 in Week 11. Milloy was selected to play in the
2002 Pro Bowl, which became his third Pro Bowl selection. Milloy started in all 16 games in
2001 and recorded 113 combined tackles (77 solo), three sacks, three pass deflections, and two interceptions. The
New England Patriots finished atop the AFC East with an 11–5 record and earned a first round bye. Milloy recorded five combined tackles as the Patriots began their playoff run by defeating the
Oakland Raiders 16–13 in the AFC Divisional Round. On January 27, 2002, Milloy recorded three solo tackles, deflected a pass and made an interception during a 24–17 win at the
Pittsburgh Steelers in the
AFC Championship Game. Milloy intercepted a pass by Steelers' quarterback
Kordell Stewart, that was originally intended for wide receiver
Plaxico Burress, and sealed the Patriots' victory in the fourth quarter. On February 3, 2002, Milloy started in
Super Bowl XXXVI and recorded seven combined tackles and led the team with three pass deflections as the Patriots defeated the
St. Louis Rams 20–17. He started all 16 games in
2002 and recorded 94 combined tackles (65 solo) and five pass deflections. Milloy was supposed to earn $4.5 million in 2003 and still had four years remaining on his contract. Milloy was not scheduled to become an
unrestricted free agent until after the
2006 season.
Buffalo Bills On September 3, 2003, the
Buffalo Bills signed Milloy to a four-year, $15 million contract that included a
signing bonus of $5 million. Head coach
Gregg Williams named Milloy the starting strong safety to start the regular season, alongside starting free safety
Izell Reese and cornerbacks
Nate Clements and
Antoine Winfield. Milloy's first game with Buffalo took place five days after his release against his former team, the
New England Patriots. He finished the Bills' 31–0 victory with five combined tackles and sacked quarterback
Tom Brady. On December 14, Milloy collected a season-high 14 combined tackles (12 solo) during a 28–26 loss at the
Tennessee Titans in Week 15. On December 30, Buffalo Bills fired Williams after a 6–10 season. Milloy started all 16 games in
2003 NFL season and recorded 104 combined tackles (69 solo), eight pass deflections, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. Milloy was inactive for Buffalo' first five games (Weeks 1–6) due to his injury. On November 14, he collected a season-high 15 combined tackles (ten solo) during a 29–6 loss at the
New England Patriots in Week 10. The following week, Milloy recorded six solo tackles and made a career-high three sacks on
St. Louis Rams' quarterback
Marc Bulger during the Bills' 37–17 win in Week 11. He started all 11 games he was active and recorded 61 combined tackles (39 solo), five pass deflections, four sacks, and two interceptions. In Week 10, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (nine solo) during the Bills' 14–3 win against the
Kansas City Chiefs. Milloy started all 16 games in
2005 and recorded 106 combined tackles (75 solo), four pass deflections, a sack, and an interception. Milloy visited the
Cincinnati Bengals,
Seattle Seahawks, and Atlanta Falcons during free agency.
Atlanta Falcons On March 17, 2006, the
Atlanta Falcons signed Milloy to a three-year,
$6.01 million contract that included a
signing bonus of $2.50 million. Head coach
Jim Mora named Milloy the starting strong safety to start the regular season, alongside free safety
Chris Crocker and cornerbacks
DeAngelo Hall and
Jimmy Williams. On October 15, Milloy collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 27–14 loss to the
New York Giants in Week 6. He started all 16 games in
2006 and recorded 98 combined tackles (72 solo), five pass deflections, and two sacks.
2007 Head coach
Bobby Petrino retained Milloy and Chris Crocker as the starting safety duo in 2007. They started in the secondary alongside cornerbacks DeAngelo Hall and
Chris Houston. In Week 6, Milloy collected a season-high 11 solo tackles in the Falcons' 31–10 win against the
New York Giants. On December 16, 2007, Milloy recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles (11 solo) during a 37–3 loss at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15. On December 11, Petrino resigned as head coach and accepted the head coaching position with the
University of Arkansas. Falcons' quarterback
Michael Vick was sentenced to 23-months in prison on the same day for
running a dogfighting operation. Milloy started all 16 games in
2007 and recorded 90 combined tackles (76 solo), five pass deflections, and two interceptions. Smith named Milloy the starting strong safety to start the regular season, alongside free safety
Erik Coleman and cornerbacks
Brent Grimes and Chris Houston. On December 14, Milloy collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 13–10 win against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15. He finished the
2008 season with 93 combined tackles (76 solo), five pass deflections, a forced fumble, and an interception in 15 games and 15 starts. Head coach
Jim Mora named Milloy the backup free safety, behind
Jordan Babineaux, to start the regular season. On December 27, Milloy collected a season-high six combined tackles in the Seahawks' 48–10 loss at the
Green Bay Packers in Week 16. Milloy finished the 2009 season with 34 combined tackles (27 solo) and two pass deflections in 16 games and one start. In Week 3, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (seven solo) during a 27–20 win against the
San Diego Chargers. On October 17, Milloy recorded three solo tackles and a season-high two sacks during the Seahawks' 29–20 win at the
Chicago Bears in Week 6. His two sacks against the Bears earned him a spot in the 20/20 club. Milloy started in all 16 games in
2010 and recorded 88 combined tackles (67 solo), four sacks, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble. ==NFL career statistics==