Mike Williams had a tough time connecting with Aaron Rodgers on the field during his short stint with the New York Jets.
However, the Pittsburgh Steelers believe the veteran wide receiver will fit well with Russell Wilson and their offense.
On Tuesday, the teams announced that the Jets had agreed to trade Williams to the Steelers in exchange for a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft, pending a physical.
Williams struggled to make an impact in his first season with the Jets, failing to build a strong connection with Rodgers. His role became less certain when the Jets traded for Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders last month.
After signing a one-year, $10 million contract with the Jets in the offseason, Williams had just 12 catches for 166 yards in nine games. In his last two games, he had only one reception for 6 yards on two targets.
Now, Williams moves from the struggling Jets (3-6) to the first-place Steelers (6-2), who have been looking for a second option alongside their top receiver, George Pickens.
“Mike’s a good guy,” Rodgers said during his regular appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” just as news of the trade broke. “He’ll be good in that locker room.
He’s had a nice career, and sometimes a change of scenery is great for certain guys. It was great for me to kind of get re-enthused and stuff. We kind of knew with Davante coming in, there would be fewer targets for everyone.”
The trade also gives the Steelers a big target in the red zone alongside Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth. While Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III have stepped up in production since Wilson returned from his calf injury, neither of them has the size or experience that Williams brings.
“If this gives Mike more opportunities, that’s awesome,” Rodgers added. “We wish Mike well.”
The 6-foot-4 Mike Williams spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Chargers, where he caught 309 passes for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns. However, he tore the ACL in his right knee during Week 3 last year and missed the rest of the season.
The Jets took their time bringing Williams back, slowly easing him into the offseason and training camp. But once he was on the field, he and Rodgers never seemed to build chemistry.
“Mike’s a quiet guy, just kind of goes about his business,” Rodgers said. “Mike had a rough injury last year, an ACL. That’s tough to come back from and he worked his (butt) off all last season.
He wasn’t around for a lot of training camp and was working on the side. But I felt like he was getting better throughout the early part of the season. I felt like his speed was getting better and starting to feel more comfortable with it.”
In New York’s 23-20 loss to Buffalo on October 14, Rodgers targeted Williams in the closing minutes, but the pass was intercepted by Taron Johnson, which sealed the loss for the Jets.
Rodgers later said that Williams had run the wrong route. Williams wasn’t upset by the criticism and said he and Rodgers had talked about it.
After that, Williams was the focus of trade rumors, especially after he missed the first two days of practice that week due to what the Jets described as “personal reasons.”
Six days after New York’s loss to Buffalo, Williams caught a 15-yard pass in a 37-15 loss to Pittsburgh. Now, he will be playing for those same Steelers.
Pittsburgh has been searching for another outside receiver to play alongside Pickens since they traded Diontae Johnson to Carolina in the offseason. The Steelers missed out on Brandon Aiyuk, who chose to stay in San Francisco, and couldn’t land either Adams or DeAndre Hopkins when both became available.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the team was looking to improve its roster for the second half of the season but also praised the progress 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, just before the trade was finalized.
“And every time we step into a stadium, they get an opportunity to do so. And you’ve seen some examples of it already.” However, the team couldn’t pass up the chance to bring in Williams at a relatively low cost.
This trade leaves the Jets a bit thin at wide receiver. New York still has starters Adams and Garrett Wilson, plus backups Xavier Gipson, special teamer Irvin Charles, and rookie Malachi Corley, who had his first NFL touchdown run called back last Thursday night against Houston after he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line.
Allen Lazard, who has 30 receptions for 412 yards and is tied with Wilson for the team lead in touchdowns with five, is currently on injured reserve with a chest injury.
