Aaron Rodgers reacts to New York Jets trading Mike Williams to Pittsburgh Steelers

Another last-minute move was made at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday at the wide receiver position. As the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired wideout Mike Williams from the New York Jets in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round draft pick.

Trades started happening rapidly ahead of the deadline, and the Williams trade actually happened during Aaron Rodgers‘ weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. That allowed the Jets quarterback to react in real-time, right after the news surfaced.

Aaron Rodgers reacts in real time to the Mike Williams trade: pic.twitter.com/h6fBQXFrwA

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 5, 2024

“Mike’s a quiet guy, just kind of goes about his business,” Rodgers said. “Mike had a rough injury last year, that ACL, it’s tough to come back from and he worked his ass off all offseason. Wasn’t around for a lot of training camp, he was working on the side, but I felt like he was getting better throughout the early part of the season. Feel like his speed was getting better and he was feeling more comfortable with it. That’s a tough injury, I had that injury and it’s the mental part that takes the longest.”

Following seven seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams signed a one-year contract with the Jets in March. Coming off of a torn ACL injury suffered in Week 3 of the 2023 season after catching 19 passes for 249 yards and one touchdown. Not quite as impactful as he’d been in the past for New York this season with just 10 receptions for 145 yards in his six appearances.

“But Mike’s a good guy, he’ll be good in that locker room. Obviously, had a lot of great veteran leadership. He’s had a nice career and sometimes change of scenery is great for certain guys. I mean shoot, it was great for me, it was fun kind of getting re-enthused and stuff,” Rodgers admitted.

Williams is a big target who has specialized in contested catches as a down-the-field threat throughout his career, catching 319 passes for 4,951 yards and 31 touchdowns. Numbers he’ll look to build upon on a new team where he could potentially be featured a lot more in the passing game.

“And we kind of knew with Davante (Adams) coming in that there’d be less targets for everybody. Because (Garret Wilson) G’s leading the league in targets, he’s gonna get his targets, and Tae’s a dynamic player, he’s gonna get his targets,” Rodgers explained. “So if this gives Mike more opportunities, that’s awesome and we wish Mike well.”

The Steelers could surely use Williams in the passing game, ranking 26th in the NFL with just 190 yards through the air per game. Serving as a potential perfect pairing with Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson, who has excelled with high-arching deep passes throughout his career.