The Steelers wanted Mike Williams all the way back in March during free agency. It took a long time, but Omar Khan was finally able to make it happen.
And it might be meant to be.
Williams stepped into the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex Wednesday morning, greeted his new teammates and reunited with former Chargers teammate Breiden Fehoko for a quick dap and catch-up before it was time to go to work. It should have been the second time Williams made a visit to South Water Street, but an offseason meeting between him and the team never happened.
"I had a meeting scheduled here," Williams recalled with reporters Wednesday afternoon. "But, the Jets was the first meeting, and I didn't leave the building. That's how that went."
The Jets offered Williams a one-year, $10-million contract, which sent him the message that New York was where he was supposed to be, especially since that's a pretty hefty price for a receiver coming off a torn ACL in the previous season and that'd also be turning 30 before the year ended.
However, things didn't go all that well for Williams. He was behind the rest of the team as he worked his way back from a major knee injury. That kept him from establishing a chemistry with Aaron Rodgers and the rest of his teammates.
The lack of chemistry became more and more apparent when the season began. Williams has only caught 12 passes for 166 yards, despite playing all nine games thus far. His 18.4 receiving yards per game is the lowest its been in his career since his rookie season in 2017. And, Rodgers wasn't afraid to throw Williams under the bus on the Pat McAfee Show by saying he ran a wrong route near the end of a game in which they lost.
Once the Jets acquired Rodgers' former Packers teammate Davante Adams, Williams was immediately put on the trade block, and Khan came calling. It took a few weeks to get here, but the trade came together a couple hours prior to Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline.
Hearing Williams go into what went wrong in New York, a light bulb went off for me:
"It was cool," Williams said. "Obviously, going over there after the ACL (injury), not having OTAs, training camp, all of that, to get the chemistry right with Aaron. He's really detailed. He likes what he likes. I feel like me not being able to go in there and transition as quick is probably what went wrong."
Now, that doesn't seem like much, but remember the context here. Rodgers is very particular about what he wants. Once the Packers got tired of it, they parted ways with him. Rodgers is still in a place in which he can pull strings to get himself into a situation that works best for him. Getting Adams back was a big one.
It's probably nothing personal with Williams, but if Rodgers wasn't feeling any connection with Williams, it was going to alienate him and never really give him a chance to do or prove anything. The whole, "He likes what he likes," part of the quote kind of led me down this thought process.
In Pittsburgh, Williams is coming into a situation in which he can be an asset. First, they don't need him to be some sort of savior or massive impact receiver. George Pickens has evolved into a bona fide No. 1 receiver. We're witnessing that on a weekly basis. But, we're also seeing receivers such as Calvin Austin III take on larger roles on offense.
What Williams brings to the table is another deep threat downfield, somebody who can help stretch the field. That's what Arthur Smith's offense is built on. Establish the run, but also stretch the defense with an ability to take shots downfield off play-action. We've seen that, especially over the past two games with Russell Wilson at quarterback.
That gives Williams an opportunity to simplify things and just be the 6-4 guy who can make big catches downfield:
"For sure. I'm looking forward to the opportunity," Williams said. "I'm a playmaker. I want to make plays. I want to get the (opportunities). I'm going to go out here and work, and show that I deserve to be on the field."
And, yeah, he can still make some impressive catches:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) November 6, 2024
Williams knows Wilson's patented "moon ball" is a weapon that can match his own game very well.
"Hell, yeah. That's something I've been good at also in my career, catching that deep ball and tracking the ball," Williams said. "Come down with a few of those, gain that trust in each other, let's connect on a lot of those."
Williams isn't concerned about establishing chemistry with Wilson. It didn't take him long to make a few plays in practice, which Williams confirmed Wednesday. But he's also gotten a quick glimpse of the culture in Pittsburgh. I haven't covered anything in New York, but it's different here. There's a quiet sense of urgency, a daily attitude to make each practice truly mean something more than it probably should be.
Williams has been working hard all season. He's spent so much time working through the grind to come back from his ACL injury, and now he's finally feeling like himself again. But, having that work ethic is going to fit right in with this team.
"It was a grind, for sure. It's hard to really explain," Williams said about his recovery. "I feel like you've gotta go through it. Getting surgery and not being able to walk for a little while was a little different. The type of player I am, I like to put the work in, and I'm putting the work in to be out here now."
This team is all about putting the work in. Now Williams has a chance to work collectively with everybody he needs to. And, it doesn't hurt to have two guys on the outside who can stress defenses downfield. It opens up all kinds of possibilities.
No, Williams wasn't the splashy pick that everyone wanted. But, he might be a good enough fit to create more things offensively that the Steelers didn't have before. And, because of the way the Jets structured Williams' contract, the Steelers only gave up a fifth-round pick and $627,500 in salary to bring him to Pittsburgh.