Jets trade wide receiver Mike Williams to Steelers for a fifth-round draft pick next year
Mike Williams struggled to establish a rapport with Aaron Rodgers on the New York Jets.
The Pittsburgh Steelers think the veteran wide receiver will fit in just fine with Russell Wilson and their offense.
The teams announced Tuesday the Jets agreed to trade Williams to the Steelers for a fifth-round pick in next year's draft, pending a physical.
Williams struggled with production and building an on-field connection with Rodgers in his first season with New York. He became expendable when the Jets acquired Davante Adams from Las Vegas last month.
Williams, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with New York in the offseason as a free agent, had just 12 catches for 166 yards in nine games with the Jets. He had only a 6-yard reception on just two targets in his last two games.
He heads from the scuffling Jets (3-6) to the first-place Steelers (6-2), who have been searching for a complement to top wideout George Pickens for months.
The addition of Williams also gives the Steelers a big red zone target for Wilson, along with Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth. While Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III have seen their production tick up since Wilson returned after missing the first six games with a calf injury, both lack Williams' size and resume.
The 6-foot-4 Williams spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Chargers, for whom he caught 309 passes for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns. He tore the ACL in his right knee in Week 3 last year and missed the rest of the season. The Jets brought Williams along slowly throughout the offseason and in training camp, but he never seemed to click with Rodgers when he got onto the field.
In New York's 23-20 loss to Buffalo on Oct. 14, Rodgers threw to Williams during the final few minutes — but was intercepted when Taron Johnson intercepted the pass that was short of Williams and sealed the loss for the Jets. Rodgers later said Williams ran the wrong route. The wide receiver said he wasn't bothered by the quarterback's criticism and said the two spoke about it.
But Williams then became the subject of trade rumors, especially after he sat out the first two days of practice that week for what the Jets said were “personal reasons.”
Six days after New York's loss to Buffalo, Williams caught a 15-yard pass in a 37-15 loss in Pittsburgh. And now he'll be playing for those Steelers.
Pittsburgh has been looking for another outside receiver to put opposite Pickens since the team traded Diontae Johnson to Carolina in the offseason. The Steelers missed out on Brandon Aiyuk — who opted to remain in San Francisco — and couldn't land Adams or DeAndre Hopkins when both became available.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged the team was looking to upgrade its roster in general for the stretch run, but also made it a point to acknowledge the rise in the quality of play of Austin and Jefferson.
“I just feel like we have a group that’s hardworking and capable and can’t wait to show the football world those capabilities,” Tomlin said Tuesday shortly before the trade. "And every time we step into a stadium, they get an opportunity to do so. And you seen some examples of it already.”
Just not enough to resist the chance to bring in Williams for a relatively low cost.
