Steelers Free Agent Analysis: Mike Williams
Position: Wide Receiver
Experience: 8 Years (1 with Steelers)
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
2024 Salary Cap Hit: $3,347,059
2024 Season Breakdown:
The Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t even get WR Mike Williams to take a free agency visit, signing with the Jets instead. Months later, they sent the Jets a fifth-round pick for a one-touchdown showing from the big-bodied receiver. Having already invested in him, though, will he remain with the team, or was it a one-and-done relationship?
Mike Williams came off an injured-plagued 2023 season when he spurned the Steelers, signing a one-year, $10 million contract with the Jets instead. He never had a good relationship with QB Aaron Rodgers, though, even if Rodgers vouched for him after the fact.
Still, Williams did very little for the Steelers. In nine games, he played 171 snaps, catching nine passes on 13 targets. He produced 132 yards with a couple deep grabs, including a 32-yard touchdown in his Steelers debut. Following that game-winning moment, though, the rest of his tenure was largely anonymous.
It’s fair to wonder how much of that is on Mike Williams, how much is on the Steelers, including the coordinator. Did Arthur Smith want Williams, or a receiver like Williams, or know how to use him? Historically, he did thrive with big-bodied receivers. But he had A.J. Brown with the Titans, and Mike Williams isn’t A.J. Brown.
Free Agency Outlook:
After signing a one-year, $10 million contract last March, Mike Williams won’t see that from the Steelers. In fact, I would be surprised if anybody were willing to offer him an amount close to that. The Steelers seem to have a pattern of adding players, often receivers, on their final “money” contract. Allen Robinson II was a recent example, also a wide receiver, from two seasons ago.
The question with Williams the Steelers have to ponder is whether there is more to him than he showed last season. He still wasn’t far removed from a major injury, and he was productive before that. He was never a Pro Bowler, but he could be an effective deep threat.
Given how thin the Steelers are at wide receiver, if Mike Williams is cheap, they might as well re-sign him. But they shouldn’t do so assuming that he is definitely a part of their plans. After all, they invested a fifth-round pick and a few million into him last year and barely used him.
The Steelers have a long list of free agents this year, but not absolutely can’t-lose names. While it includes significant players like Najee Harris and Dan Moore Jr., they are not the team’s priority. The biggest question is the quarterback position, working to choose between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. There are some choice role players, but they wouldn’t fall apart if they lost the entire lot—minus a quarterback.
