Our long national nightmare is over. The Pittsburgh Steelers have finally acquired a wide receiver after months of trade rumors, reportedly sending a 2025 fifth-round pick to the New York Jets for WR Mike Williams. Williams to Pittsburgh had been rumored ever since the Jets acquired WR Davante Adams ahead of Week 7, and NFL insider Ian Rapoport said there was a widespread belief heading into today that the Steelers would wind up acquiring Williams.
“We talked earlier in the day about Za’Darius Smith to the Lions being the most rumored trade. That was probably not true. This was the most rumored trade. I think everyone believed that the Pittsburgh Steelers would end up trading for Mike Williams,” Rapoport said on NFL Network today.
Putting the pieces together, the fit makes sense, as does the expectation that the Steelers would be the team to trade for Williams. Pittsburgh was supposed to host Williams on a visit this offseason when he was a free agent, but he signed with the Jets before that visit could happen. After a slow ramp-up coming off a torn ACL that ended his 2023 season, Williams never developed chemistry with Aaron Rodgers in New York. After just 12 catches as a member of the Jets, he’ll now look to bolster Pittsburgh’s wide receiver room.
NFL insider Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network reported that Williams had been “high” on Pittsburgh’s list to acquire given its prior interest in him, and the Steelers were able to get it done. The team had been continually monitoring his status since he was made available by the Jets.
While Williams isn’t the same caliber receiver of someone like Brandon Aiyuk, Adams or Amari Cooper, he’s been a really productive player in the past. The former first-round pick was having an excellent start to his 2023 season with 19 receptions for 249 yards and a touchdown through three games before tearing his ACL. If Williams can round back into form, he’ll be a nice piece for the Steelers and QB Russell Wilson as a deep threat and jump-ball receiver on the outside opposite George Pickens.
With the Steelers at 6-2, it makes sense to see if they can get something out of Williams, and trading one of their two 2025 fifth-round picks isn’t a bad price to pay. While Williams didn’t work out with the Jets, he’ll likely have more of an opportunity in Pittsburgh. That could lead to enhanced production for a wide receiver room that the team had been looking to upgrade for months.
