The Pittsburgh Steelers were active during the trade deadline, as evident by their acquisitions of wide receiver Mike Evans and pass rusher Preston Smith. They hope these additions will help them in the second half of their 2024 campaign. The Steelers gave up a 2025 fifth-rounder for Williams and a 2025 seventh-rounder for Smith.
Williams signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets earlier this season. However, the chemistry between him and four-time NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers did not materialize, and he had only 12 catches for 166 yards in nine games.
The former Clemson standout can deliver more than those numbers, as proven by his 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021. Two years before, Willimas had 1,001 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the franchise that selected him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Jets trading WR Mike Williams to Steelers for 2025 5th-round pick. (via @RapSheet + @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/JC6e7SM0ef
— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2024
Williams will join George Pickens, Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, and Scotty Miller in the Steelers’ receiving corps. Ben Skowronek and Roman Wilson are also with Pittsburgh but are on injured reserve.
Meanwhile, the Steelers will be the third NFL team Smith will play for. He spent the last six years with the Green Bay Packers and established a career-high 12 sacks in 2019. Smith has 25.5 sacks from 2021 to 2023 and has 2.5 in nine games for Green Bay this season.
Smith will boost the Steelers’ pass rush, which has generated only 19 sacks in eight games. That’s tied with the New Orleans Saints for the sixth-worst total in the first half of 2024. The defensive player from Mississippi State will join former Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward in chasing down opposing quarterbacks.
-Lance Fernandez