New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was in the middle of his weekly “The Pat McAfee Show” appearance when it was learned the club was sending veteran wide receiver Mike Williams to the Pittsburgh Steelers in return for a 2025 fifth-round draft pick ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Rodgers reacted to the news and offered praise for who is now his former teammate during the live on-air segment.
“Mike’s a quiet guy, just kind of goes about his business,” Rodgers said, as shared by Bridget Hyland of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “Mike had a rough injury last year, ACL, that’s tough to come back from. He worked his a— 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 in the earlier part of the season, felt like his speed was getting better.”
Rodgers, who essentially missed the entire 2023 season because of a torn Achilles, failed to build chemistry with Williams during the ongoing campaign as the Jets lost six of nine games. In total, Williams recorded just 12 catches for 166 yards with zero touchdowns during his Jets tenure, which mostly will be remembered for Rodgers publicly criticizing the 30-year-old over a route that Williams allegedly ran incorrectly during New York’s Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
That moment proved to be the beginning of the end of Williams’ time with the Jets. Gang Green subsequently acquired star receiver Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders, and that deal seemingly made Williams surplus to requirements for New York even though the club will be without Allen Lazard for at least the next three games because of a chest injury.
Per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Lazard could return to the lineup for New York’s Week 14 matchup against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 8. A healthy Lazard had been New York’s No. 3 receiver behind Adams and Garrett Wilson.
“Mike’s a good guy,” Rodgers told McAfee. “He’ll be good in that locker room. Obviously a lot of great veteran leadership, he’s had a nice career. And sometimes, change of scenery is great for certain guys.”
Shortly after outlets reported the Williams trade, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the 3-6 Jets as one-point underdogs for this coming Sunday’s game at the 5-4 Arizona Cardinals.