You could say Avery Williamson hit triple 7s. Williamson won the football lottery, going from the winless 0-8 Jets to the only undefeated team in the NFL, the 7-0 Steelers. Williamson is excited to wear the black and gold and get to work.
He spoke with Barstool Sports’ Joey Mulinaro on the Cup Of Joey show about the trade and getting to play for Mike Tomlin. Williamson said he spoke with Tomlin earlier in the week.
“Super cool dude,” Williamson said. “Down to earth. He’s a good dude. I’m excited to play for him. I feel he’s all about football and all about winning. That’s what I’m excited to be apart of.”
It’s hard to move from a bigger extreme, going from Adam Gase to Mike Tomlin. Gase is dead man walking, almost certain to be fired after the season thanks to a series of terrible decisions, outright putting some players in harms way (like playing his clearly injured left tackle) and assembling the worst roster in football. Meanwhile, Tomlin may be the favorite for coach of the year, becoming the model of NFL stability, the Steelers’ head coach since 2007.
Though Williamson is excited for the change of scenery, he knows his season – and work – is just beginning.
“I’m just ready to get to work with these guys. Get to know them. Learn this playbook and share some sweat with these guys. Blood, sweat, and tears. I’m excited man. But the job isn’t finished until we get that Lombardi.”
On Tuesday, Tomlin said Williamson was brought in to be the team’s third inside linebacker, essentially depth behind Vince Williams and Robert Spillane. In the short-term, Williamson has to pass COVID testing before entering the team’s facility on Saturday. It’s unclear if the team will have him active for Sunday’s game against Dallas (it’s an away game so who knows, maybe Williamson meets the team at the airport) but even if he dresses, he isn’t expected to play much if at all.
When he does suit up, Williamson described what he’s bringing to the team.
“Tackling machine. I’m definitely going to get to the rock. I feel like I’m always around the ball. Just going to make stuff happen. I’m always trying to get the ball out as much as possible. I always feel like I’m going to make some plays.”
