Getty The New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers competing in an NFL contest.
Mike Williams might not be long for the New York Jets.
ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler revealed that the Pittsburgh Steelers have “shown interest in a potential trade” for Williams who is on the trade “block.”
“Williams is open to finding a new home before the deadline, and Pittsburgh has basically scoured the Earth for receiver help in recent months. Any possible deal would have to wait until next week, due to the head-to-head matchup,” Fowler explained.
#Steelers showing interest in a trade for #Jets WR Mike Williams, per @JFowlerESPN.
“Williams is open to finding a new home before the deadline, and Pittsburgh has basically scoured the Earth for receiver help in recent months. Any possible deal would have to wait until next…
Williams signed with the green and white on March 19. He has been around the team for months. It would be wild for the Jets to have traded Williams to the Steelers, the opponent they are playing in the same week.
That would have put the team at a tactical disadvantage because Williams could have spilled trade secrets that could affect the Week 7 matchup.
It Doesn’t Make Sense to Flip Williams if You’re the Jets…
NFL Insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic said the Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, and the New Orleans Saints “are among a number of teams” that have reached out about a Williams trade.
The former Clemson product signed a one-year deal for $10 million. If the Jets traded him it wouldn’t save much cap space.
“It won’t amount to much savings in terms of cap space (less than $1 million) and because of the structure of his contract, with void years tacked on to reduce the cap hit in 2024, they’ll still have him on the books for $1.469 million a year through 2028,” per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.
In addition to the lack of cap savings, the Jets wouldn’t receive much in trade compensation either.
“It is unlikely the Jets will get much in exchange for a 30-year-old receiver coming off ACL surgery who doesn’t look completely back from that injury,” Rosenblatt explained.
This is an all-in season for the Jets. The stakes are clear: win games, make the playoffs, and go on a run or else everyone is fired. With that message clear, what would be the benefit of flipping Williams for a bag of beans?
Williams Breaks Silence on New Situation With the Jets
The veteran wide receiver skipped the first two days of practice of Steelers week for what the team called “personal reasons.”
“Just… personal stuff. I’d rather not speak about [it],” Williams told the media on Friday, October 18.
This week the Jets made a blockbuster trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire wide receiver Davante Adams. A day before that Williams was criticized publically by Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers for running the wrong route which led to an interception versus the Buffalo Bills.
A media member asked Williams if he was upset at all by Rodgers’ words.
“Nah. No, I just gotta be on the red line,” Williams responded with a smile.
Williams called the Jets’ current wide receiver room, “elite.”
“Probably one of the best rooms in the league. Excited to learn from Tae and everything he been through in this league. He has probably been top two or top three in this league for a while. So excited to learn from him and pick his brain on some things,” Williams said. He also revealed that Rodgers reached out to him privately one-on-one after the game to talk.
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Jets, Steelers Talking Trade; Timeline Pushed to Next Week: Insider