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After missing out on Davante Adams, the Pittsburgh Steelers are keeping an eye on Mike Williams of the New York Jets as they look to add another wide receiver before the trade deadline.
Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers have “shown interest” in trading for Williams as they have “basically scoured the Earth” to find another wideout dating back to the offseason.
Pittsburgh was one of the teams heavily interested in trading for Brandon Aiyuk before the start of the season. The Steelers even had a deal done with the San Francisco 49ers, but Aiyuk wouldn’t sign off on it and wound up re-signing with the Niners.
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This story is WILD. 🤯
According to @JayGlazer, Brandon Aiyuk called off a trade to the Steelers in the eleventh hour to stay with the 49ers!
Kyle Shanahan told Aiyuk that he had to make a decision by the end of practice on the day the deal got done. Aiyuk chose to stay in San… pic.twitter.com/CAXBHXLOEO
The Jets’ acquisition of Adams in a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday led to immediate speculation about Williams’ future in New York.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on Thursday that the Steelers were among the teams that reached out to the Jets about Williams, as did the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints.
That came after Aaron Rodgers publicly criticized Williams for the route he took on the final offensive play that resulted in an interception in Monday’s 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Williams told reporters on Friday he met with Rodgers during the week to discuss the situation, and he wasn’t upset about the criticism from the star quarterback.
With Adams set to make his Jets debut against the Steelers on Sunday Night Football, there will be attention paid to how many snaps Williams gets since he is also set to play in the primetime matchup.
The Steelers need a spark of some kind for their offense, which might explain why head coach Mike Tomlin is teasing making a potential change at quarterback from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson for the Jets game.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Wilson is expected to start and play the bulk of the snaps, but Fields will also have a role in the game.
George Pickens is the only pass-catcher in Pittsburgh with more than 200 receiving yards so far this season. Pickens and Calvin Austin are the only players among their top eight pass-catchers averaging more than 10 yards per reception.
Williams, who signed a one-year deal with the Jets in free agency, has 10 catches for 145 yards in six games this season.
The NFL trade deadline is at 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 5 in between Weeks 9 and 10 of the regular season.
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