The Pittsburgh Steelers finally got a deal across the table to upgrade their wide receiver corps on Tuesday. They traded a fifth-round pick to the New York Jets for WR Mike Williams. The Steelers had targeted him in the offseason, but he opted to sign with the Jets.
That move did not exactly play out well for Williams or the Jets. He struggled at times coming back from his ACL injury suffered in 2023. He also struggled to stay on the good side of his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.
Usually, when we examine trades, we consider how the incoming player can affect the team. And that’s a valuable exercise. But in this case, it’s worth considering just how going from Rodgers to Russell Wilson may affect Williams.
“People can say whatever they want about Russ,” said Daniel Jeremiah on Tuesday’s episode of the Move The Sticks podcast. “But you just went from the most melancholy, moody quarterback to a guy who’s just smiles and gives you slogans all day long. That’s gonna feel like Mike Williams has died and gone to heaven from that standpoint. I don’t see Russ, I don’t see Russ airing him out for not staying on the red line on a vertical.”
Rodgers has never been known for being the most kind-hearted, warm personality. He’s a cutthroat competitor who expects to win and demands the best out of everyone. But that demand for excellence can cross the line if not tempered.
And that arguably happened earlier this season after the Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills. In the dying minutes, Rodgers threw an interception to Bills CB Taron Johnson. He targeted Williams on the throw, who slipped and fell as he tried to come back to the ball. Johnson was able to grab the pass and effectively end the game.
When Rodgers was asked about that play in his post-game press conference, he put the blame squarely on Williams. His comments about throwing it to the red line are actually what Jeremiah referenced in his take.
Was Williams supposed to run a straight vertical? That’s the impression Rodgers said he was operating on. Maybe Williams saw something that caused him to adjust his route. Maybe he ran the wrong route. That’s not really the point, though.
A good leader takes the blame publicly, then comes back and has a good discussion privately. That’s not what happened here. Rodgers said Williams ran the wrong way on the play, and that’s why it was an interception. No one is going to feel good about looking at a press conference by someone who is supposed to be a leader and seeing that you’re getting thrown under the bus.
So now Williams goes from Rodgers, a Hall of Fame quarterback who seems to exist in perpetual darkness these days, to Russell Wilson. Wilson has the Super Bowl victory and another appearance. He’s got plenty of production under his belt in his career.
However, what sets Wilson apart from Rogers is his personality. Some people have called it fake, but others say it’s genuine. WR Calvin Austin III says Wilson “empowers his teammates.”
So Williams is getting a fresh start in Pittsburgh with a breath of fresh air courtesy of his new quarterback. And on the field, it should be a great partnership as Williams’ abilities align with Wilson’s moonballs.
For the record, Rodgers was kind in his remarks about Williams and the trade on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. But that may ring hollow for Williams compared to the public humiliation he endured after the Bills game earlier this season.
So, will Pittsburgh be heaven for Mike Williams? No, but Russell Wilson might be a saint compared to Williams’ previous quarterback.
