The Jets made a move before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. And even though receiver Mike Williams has been on the trading block for weeks, the timing of the move was a bit of a surprise.
The Jets sent Williams to Pittsburgh for a fifth-round pick, according to ESPN. NFL Network first reported the trade.
That’s good value considering Williams and the Jets never got on the same page after they signed him in March. In nine games with the Jets, Williams had just 12 catches for 166 yards and zero touchdowns, and one of the most controversial (on-field) moments of a disappointing season.
But the Jets decision to move him now is still surprising because they‘re still all in on this season, despite their 3-6 start, and they’re now awfully thin at wide receiver with Allen Lazard set to miss the next two games (at least) on injured reserve.
Lazard was put on IR before the win over the Texans, which means he won’t be eligible to return until Dec. 1 when the Jets host the Seahawks after their bye week. For the next two games against the Cardinals and Colts, the Jets will be all set at the top of the wide receiver depth chart with Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson.
But proven options fall off from there, with slot receiver Xavier Gipson making little impact this season and rookie Malachi Corley’s first touch since Week 2 ending in disaster against the Texans, when he dropped the ball before arriving in the end zone for what should have been his first touchdown.
It‘s not an ideal situation. But then again, when you look at Williams’ production with the Jets, and his inability to get on the same page as quarterback Aaron Rodgers, how much are the Jets really losing? And they could be avoiding a potential massive headache with Williams, who was clearly not happy within the Jets offense, moving on.
Williams has been on the trading block since the days after the Jets' Week 6 loss to the Bills, when Rodgers publicly called him out, multiple times, for running the incorrect route when Rodgers threw a game-sealing interception.
He was supposed to be on the “red line” as Rodgers pointed out. He was not. Of course, Rodgers could have thrown the ball elsewhere and/or not publicly called out his teammate.
The Jets traded for Adams just hours later. And Williams missed the next two practices for “personal reasons” with both the Jets and Williams declining to provide an explanation for his absence. But it didn‘t take a mind reader to see he was less-than happy with the situation.
