Does Aaron Rodgers drop hints when something major is about to happen in the New York Jets building? He nonchalantly said that Mike Williams ran a wrong route following a late-game interception in the matchup against the Buffalo Bills. However, he backpedaled later on The Pat McAfee Show and blamed himself, saying he “can’t make that throw.”
Unlike Robert Saleh, who was fired after the 2-3 start, Mike Williams was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Was this trade shocking? Not so much, but it certainly caught raised some eyebrows. So much so, that people cared to give their knee-jerk reaction on the trade. One of those people was Mike Florio.
The veteran NBC analyst played a clip of Rodgers saying that everybody knew they would be getting less targets once Davante Adams stepped into the Jets locker room. The 4x MVP also thought that Williams would be a good fit in the Steelers roster and that the trade would give Mike Williams “more opportunities.”
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Florio quipped how Rodgers was “fighting back the tears” but his facial expression was very clear: A-Rod isn’t fooling anyone. He put two and two together and hypothesized that the moment Davante Adams stepped into the building, someone had to go. Wilson’s dropped pass against the Bills was just a catalyst in this process.
The NBC analyst pointed out on Pro Football Talk that there was no chance Aaron Rodgers was saying goodbye to his BFFs Allen Lazard and Davante Adams. After Garrett Wilson made that Air Jordan catch, the Jets QB definitely didn’t want him getting shipped out. The analyst also happens to think that Rodgers is busy stat padding and Mike Williams wasn’t helping his case.
“Rodgers is so worried about completion percentage and touchdown to interception ratio. ‘How dare you not catch that pass? How dare you let the other guy catch that? [Russell] Wilson doesn’t care. He’s going to trust you,” Mike Florio said on Pro Football Talk.
The analyst was speaking to his colleague Michael Holley, who further pointed out how Russell Wilson can help elevate Mike Williams in Pittsburgh.
What’s your perspective on:
Did Aaron Rodgers orchestrate Mike Williams' trade to the Steelers for his own stat-padding agenda?
Have an interesting take?
Will Mike Williams escape the slump he’s in after Aaron Rodgers ditched him?
Mike Williams played 9 games with the New York Jets this season. He never had more than 5 receptions in any of those games. In that 23-20 loss against Buffalo, the quarterback targeted the receiver three times, but he didn’t catch any of those passes. Moreover, he doesn’t have more than 70 yards in a game and hasn’t scored a touchdown this season either. All of this is just a cause-and-effect loop. Rodgers didn’t throw enough passes to him to bolster his stats. Also, he dropped so many passes and his stats didn’t improve.
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In hindsight, Rodgers’ decision or not, this seems like a sound choice for the New York Jets, who are doing poorly. So, what happens to Mike Williams now? Is his career going to face a massive seismic shift? Michael Holley seems to think so.
“This is such a good fit for Russell Wilson, isn’t it?” Holley said. “Think about what Russell Wilson wants to do. He’s already done it in his first couple of games going downfield, throwing it up to Pickens.” Holley also happens to think that Williams doesn’t have a lot of juice left in him, but he can still catch a jump ball.
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The Steelers have been frantic about getting a WR since the off-season. Heck, how many times did they try to get their hands on Brandon Aiyuk? There were also others who the Pittsburgh team pursued. Now, they have Mike Williams. Till now, Wilson only had George Pickens as a reliant receiver but with this trade, he’s got one more.
Who knows, the Clemson alum might just pull a DeAndre Hopkins on the Pittsburgh Steelers. What do you think about the trade? Let us know below.
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Debate
Did Aaron Rodgers orchestrate Mike Williams' trade to the Steelers for his own stat-padding agenda?