UPDATE, 9:56 a.m.: After missing practice Wednesday due to personal reasons, Jets’ WR Mike Williams is back in the team’s facility on Thursday, according to a report from NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo.
Our original story is below.
Still needing help at wide receiver, the Pittsburgh Steelers remain active in the trade market at the position.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Steelers are among a “number of teams” who have reached out to the New York Jets regarding veteran wide receiver Mike Williams.
Along with the Steelers, Russini named the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints as teams having interest in Williams as the Jets appear set to move on from him after landing star Davante Adams in a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders earlier in the week.
The Steelers’ interest in Williams isn’t a surprise considering they showed interest in him during the offseason when he was a free agent. Williams was supposed to visit the Steelers in March but signed with the Jets before that visit happened, leaving the Steelers to continue searching at the position on the open market.
While the Steelers have since been connected to the likes of Brandon Aiyuk and Adams at the position, not to mention names like Tennessee’s DeAndre Hopkins and Jacksonville’s Christian Kirk, nothing has come close to happening for the Steelers.
With Williams now available, there is the possibility that GM Omar Khan finally finds an answer at wide receiver in an effort to plug a major hole.
The Jets travel to Pittsburgh for a Week 7 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, so that could cause some pause in trade talks as the Jets might not want to send Williams to Pittsburgh ahead of the matchup. However, after Jets QB Aaron Rodgers criticized Williams after a late interception in the Monday Night Football loss to the Buffalo Bills, and with Williams absent from practice Wednesday for personal reasons, it seems like the Jets might be willing to just move on to get it over with.
Williams has just 10 receptions for 145 yards on the season. He was held without a reception in the loss to the Bills, seeing just three targets, one of which resulted in the interception that cost the Jets the game.
In his career, Williams has 319 receptions for 4,951 yards and 31 touchdowns, having spent seven seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers before signing with the Jets in the offseason.
