Mike Williams Traded

Edition #737

☀️ Good Morning ☕

The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and like most years it failed to live up to the heavy hitting MLB and NBA trade deadline.

4x Pro Bowl Corner Marshon Lattimore was the biggest name to move, heading to Washington from New Orleans for multiple picks including Washington’s 3rd next season.

We saw some other movement with the likes of Khalil Herbert going from the Bears to the Bengals and Za’Darius Smith moving from the Browns to the Lions.

Of course the only move that really interests us is the one the Jets made

The Jets sent wide receiver Mike Williams to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In return they got a 5th round pick in the 2025 draft.

Why I like this deal: Williams has been largely a non-factor for the Jets since signing that one year deal for $10 million. Even with Lazard out the last two games, he’s received two targets and caught one ball for 6 yards. His blocking on the outside has been inconsistent and it’s clear that he and Aaron Rodgers are not and have never been on the same page. Chances are he’d move on after the season, so the Jets are getting a decent pick for what was a one-year rental. There are plenty of good players to be found in the 5th and it’s a good trade chip to have if you want to move up in other rounds.

Why I don’t like this deal: Even if he hasn’t been productive in the two games without Lazard it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be over the next month. Since coming into the league in 2017 he leads all receivers with 1,451 receiving yards on contested catches and we saw that ability earlier this season. Right now Xavier Gipson or Malachi Corley moves into that #3 receiver role until Lazard gets back, which is still a minimum of 3 games away. Having depth is better than not having depth and the Jets saved very little money. Pittsburgh will pay just $627,500 and the Jets will be left with dead cap hits of $2.09M in 2024 and $5.87M in 2025.

Aaron Rodgers spoke about the deal on the Pat McAfee show saying: "Mike's a good guy, he'll be good in that locker room. ... He's had a nice career, and sometimes change of scenery is great for certain guys," Rodgers said Tuesday on "The Pat McAfee Show." "We kind of knew with Davante coming in that there'd be less targets for everybody, because [Garrett Wilson is] leading the league in targets and Tae's a dynamic player, he's going to get his targets. If this gives Mike more opportunities, that's awesome and we wish Mike well."

Free Agency Miss: Add Mike Williams name to the free agents that Joe Douglas has whiffed on. Through 9 games with the Jets, Williams had 12 catches for 166 yards and 0 touchdowns. He was unable to practice in the off-season or through the majority of training camp and that hurt his ability to form any kind of chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. But it also became very clear that Hackett/Downing and the rest of the coaching staff didn’t really know how to use Williams. Now the Jets will be paying close to $8 million in dead money hits over the next two years for a guy to perform for someone else. Don’t be surprised if Williams makes a real impact in Pittsburgh, Russel Wilson isn’t afraid to throw the ball up.

Not a trade but here’s a name worth watching. Quinton Jefferson.