Mike Williams was asleep Tuesday when his trade from the New York Jets to the Pittsburgh Steelers was finalized. But the man whose playing time Williams is most likely to siphon isn’t sleeping on what Williams can bring to the Steelers’ offense.
“He’s a guy who can do so much and can bring so much to our group,” Van Jefferson said Wednesday after Williams’ first practice with the Steelers. “He’s a great addition to the team and to the room, and I’m excited to play alongside him.”
Where, exactly, Williams plays over the long term is yet to be determined, coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday. Williams confirmed he took some first-team reps and ran the gamut of WR spots during Wednesdays’ practice at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
“I was just moving around everywhere,” Williams said a day after he was acquired for a fifth-round draft pick. “For me, I am just trying to learn as much as possible. You never know what can happen. Different places, people move, things change. So I’m just learning all the positions.”
Tomlin was characteristically noncommittal on where he believed the 30-year-old Williams would fit into the offense or a receivers corps that includes a clear alpha in George Pickens followed by a group that includes Jefferson, Calvin Austin III and Scotty Miller.
The No. 7 overall pick in 2017 by the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams averaged 63 catches and more than 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns over 17-game periods played between 2018-22.
“We’re getting to know him, getting to know his skillset, and we will figure those things out along the way,” Tomlin said after practice. “I have made no presumptions about capabilities or how he fits in.”
Williams’ 2023 season — and, ultimately, his tenure with the Chargers — ended with a torn ACL in Week 3. After the requisite grueling rehabilitation and upon signing with the Jets, Williams never found a consistent role.
And when New York traded for receiver Davante Adams last month, it seemed to seal Williams’ fate as a trade piece.
“For me, it was kind of be where your feet are,” Williams said. “My main focus was there (in New York) at the time. Obviously, you know, you see the media, you see things.”
Among what Williams saw was when, during a game three weeks ago in Pittsburgh, days after the Jets had acquired Adams, fans at Acrisure Stadium were doing their best to recruit him to the Steelers.
“That was crazy,” Williams said. “People in the stands telling me, ‘Don’t go back! Stay! Don’t take the plane back!’ I thought that was funny.”
It took until the NFL trade-deadline day, though, for it to come to fruition. A few hours before the 4 p.m. deadline on a players’ off day, Williams took a nap.
“I was asleep, and I was feeling like my phone vibrating, but I thought I was dreaming,” Williams said. “It was like five missed calls from my agent. Then the GM from the Jets just called me and told me about the trade.
“So, yeah, excited about the opportunity, happy to be here.”
Williams almost was here much earlier. When free agency began in March, he had a visit scheduled with the Steelers. But it was set for after a visit with the Jets.
“I didn’t leave the (Jets) building,” Williams said, “so you know how that went.
“But I’m here now and I’m excited.”
The feeling seems mutual from Williams’ new teammates, even Jefferson, who shares marketing representation with Williams and became more familiar with him because Jefferson’s father, Shawn, was Williams’ position coach with the Jets. “Being a competitor, having a new teammate come in who wants to contribute and wants to help, obviously, I am going to help him out any way I can,” Van Jefferson said. “At the end of the day we all have one goal, and that’s to win games.”
The Steelers won six of their first eight games and, with a similar second half, would be contending for the AFC North title and postseason seeding.
The offense, since Russell Wilson took over as starting quarterback, has 63 points in two games, and Williams should further energize the group.
“Big time,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “He’s another deep-ball threat, a downfield guy. He can make plays for us down the field, so we are really excited to have him.”
