New York Jets General Manager Reveals Reason Veteran Receiver was Traded

New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas talked earlier this week about what went into dealing wide receiver Mike Williams.

Oct 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers safety DeShon Elliott (25) tackles New York Jets wide receiver Mike Williams (18) after a catch during the third quarter against at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The New York Jets’ only move as the trade deadline earlier this week was to deal wide receiver Mike Williams to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a draft pick.

To outsiders, the die was cast when he ran what quarterback Aaron Rodgers said was the wrong route in the final minutes of a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

To Douglas, things just didn’t work out and there was a clear reason why.

“Mike, obviously, was battling back from a severe ACL injury and he did everything he could,” he said during a 10-minute stand-up with local media on Wednesday.

Williams didn’t get much traction with the Jets and that injury was a big reason why.

“Not being part of OTA's (organized team activities), not being able to be part of the majority of training camp, he just could never really get that synced up,” Douglas said.

At least Douglas was specific. His interim head coach, Jeff Ulbrich, was about as vague as one could get about why and tried much harder to focus on the receivers that will get opportunities in his place.

“For whatever the reason — a little bit of us, a little bit of him, little bit of everything,” Ulbrich said. “But it's a great opportunity for him to go out there to Pittsburgh and get an opportunity to get more targets, be more involved.”

Some thought that Williams would be shipped out shortly after what happened in the Bills game.

Late in that game, as the Jets were trying to rally in the fourth quarter, Williams slipped while trying to catch a pass from Rodgers, which led to an interception that ended the game.

Afterward, Rodgers put the blame on Williams, saying the veteran receiver was supposed to run a “red line” route, which meant that he was several yards away from where Rodgers said he was supposed to be.

Williams then missed two workouts leading up to the next game for “personal reasons.” He returned late in the week, spoke to the media and said there was no hard feeling between he and Rodgers, whom he said reached out to him personally during the week to clarify what he said.  

So, New York made this move after losing veteran wide receiver Allen Lazard to a chest injury two weeks ago. He’s on injured reserve right now, but Douglas believes he’ll be back soon.

For now, Rodgers will rely on Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams, Malachi Corley, Xavier Gipson and Irvin Charles at wide receiver.

New York signed Williams to a one-year, $10 million deal in the offseason. That included a $3.3 million bonus with $8.3 million guaranteed. The hope was that he would emerge as the No. 3 option. Instead he wrapped up his Jets career with 12 catches for 166 yards.