Mike Williams was asleep. At least, he thought he was. The experienced wide receiver was trying to take a nap on Tuesday when something kept disturbing him. His phone — which kept buzzing — showed five missed calls from his agent.
“I thought I was dreaming,” Williams said. In a way, he was.
Instead of spending the rest of the season trying to figure out his role (or if he even had one) with the struggling New York Jets, Williams will now be in Pittsburgh, trying to help the Steelers, who lead the AFC North, make the playoffs and win their first playoff game in years.
There are worse places to end up. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” Williams said. “I’m a playmaker. I make plays.”
Just not enough of them in New York. Williams, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Jets in the spring, only had 12 catches for 166 yards in nine games with the Jets and didn’t score a touchdown.
When the Jets traded for Davante Adams last month, Williams found himself falling down the depth chart.
That may not be a problem in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers (6-2) have been looking for another deep threat to line up opposite George Pickens.
Williams, 30, believes he still has that extra speed a year after recovering from a torn ACL. His recovery caused him to miss important time during organized team activities and training camp, which Williams thinks led to a lack of chemistry — and a lack of production — with Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Still, Williams said his time with the Jets was “cool” and he’s excited for a fresh start with a team that has a lot to play for in the second half of the season.
Williams spent part of his first practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday working with the starting unit, and there’s a good chance he will be on the field Sunday when the Steelers play Washington.
But Williams isn’t rushing things. Since tearing the ACL in his left knee in September 2023 while playing for the Los Angeles Chargers, he has made it a point to “be where my feet are.”
Los Angeles let him leave in free agency, and while he had planned to visit the Steelers, his first stop was in New York. The Jets didn’t let him leave before he signed a contract, which didn’t end up working out.
Eight months later, Williams arrived in Pittsburgh, where he joins an offense that seems to be finding its rhythm with Russell Wilson. Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowler, is 2-0 since taking over as the starter in Week 7, including a win over Williams and the Jets.
“They, I mean we’re making noise around the league,” Williams said. “I’m excited to join these guys and be a positive (influence) on everything.”
He’s not the only new addition. The Steelers also traded for edge rusher Preston Smith from Green Bay on Tuesday, but under different circumstances. Smith admits he asked for a trade last month because he was concerned about his role after the Packers switched from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3.
Smith played only 54% of the snaps in nine games with Green Bay, his lowest since his rookie year with Washington in 2015. The 32-year-old has 2 1/2 sacks in limited playing time this season. His arrival gives Pittsburgh’s outside linebacker group more depth behind stars T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
For Smith, what matters most is that the Steelers are playing for something important. He knew that by asking Green Bay to trade him, he was leaving his future up to chance. He could have ended up anywhere.
He was happy when he found out he was going to Pittsburgh, but he admitted it wasn’t until he quickly checked online that he realized how well the Steelers’ season was going. He was more than surprised.
“I saw their record and I was kind of like ‘wooo,’” Smith said.
That excitement was a bit tempered by the fact that Pittsburgh was coming off its bye week while the Packers were about to start theirs, which meant Smith could be active for 18 straight weeks.
Smith called the move a “blessing” and believes he still has enough left in the tank to make a difference. He remembered meeting with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin before the 2015 draft. Pittsburgh took Bud Dupree in the first round, while Smith was drafted by Washington in the second round.
Sitting inside the Steelers’ facility on Wednesday after a hectic 24 hours, Smith took a moment to appreciate the situation.
“I always admired Mike Tomlin from afar and just being here and to be able to work with him, being in that first team meeting, just seeing how things go around (here),” Smith said, “I love him as a coach already.”
