Ever since the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers during the 2024 offseason, the team needed to acquire a reliable wide receiver to complement George Pickens. Before the roster cutdown deadline, the Steelers attempted to acquire Brandon Aiyuk, but Aiyuk ultimately decided to remain with the San Francisco 49ers.
Their number-two receiver hasn’t been overly productive.
The Pittsburgh Steelers WR2 hasn’t been productive
The Steelers signed Van Jefferson to a 1-year, $1,292,500 contract during the offseason, hoping he would serve as their WR2 and return to his hay days with the Los Angeles Rams when he helped contribute to their Super Bowl win for the 2021-22 season. Jefferson competed for the receiver two spot but faced little/weak competition and won the job singlehandedly. So far, he has been a shell of his former self, recording 14 receptions on 21 targets for 139 yards and one touchdown.
Since Jefferson hasn’t been very productive, the Steelers looked for receiver help at the NFL Trade Deadline. They were intrigued with who was available and acquired a talented receiver earlier in the day.
They acquired a veteran receiver with 4,972 receiving yards
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets agreed to a trade. As Schefter points out, the Steelers traded a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Jets for Mike Williams. The expectation is for Williams to get it together in Pittsburgh and serve as the number two option for Russell Wilson, putting less pressure on George Pickens.
Another trade: Pittsburgh is trading a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Jets for WR Mike Williams, per source. pic.twitter.com/mXIHElxYrQ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 5, 2024
Things didn’t work out for the veteran wide receiver in New York
The New York Jets signed Mike Williams to a 1-year, $10 million contract, hoping to complement Garrett Wilson. Williams recovered from his ACL tear from last season just in time for the regular season. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been effective in the passing game, didn’t have much playing time compared to his days with the Los Angeles Chargers, and couldn’t gain chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. He recorded 12 receptions on 21 targets for 166 yards in 53% of offense snaps and nine games with three starts.
Since the Jets acquired Davanate Adams ahead of Week 7, and considering he’s an outside receiver, Williams was the odd man out of the rotation. A change of scenery was inevitable for him. Hopefully, he will capitalize and take advantage of the opportunity the Pittsburgh Steelers have given him.
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