The last few days have been a whirlwind for new Jets wide receiver Mike Williams.
He flew from Paris to California and then on to New Jersey to meet with Gang Green this week. The former Clemson star arrived in New Jersey on Monday night and toured the facility on Tuesday.
Williams, 29, who also had visits with the Carolina Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers scheduled for later this week, didn’t leave the Jets facility until after signing a one-year contract that could be worth up to $15 million on Tuesday evening.
The Los Angeles Chargers released Williams — the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft — last week in order to save $20 million against their salary cap.
“For me personally, it was a great fit for me,” Williams told reporters on Wednesday morning. “Aaron [Rodgers], I want to be able to play with him, pick his brain and learn from him.
“Playing alongside Garrett [Wilson]. He kind of reminds me of Keenan [Allen] a little bit. Similar style play, great route runners and I feel like we can complement each other in that area in the running game, which is pretty good.
“Defense is elite. I feel like we have a pretty good opportunity ahead of us.”
The Jets entered free agency looking to find another receiver opposite Wilson, who has been their leading pass catcher for the last two seasons. Gang Green hoped it solved that problem a year ago after signing Allen Lazard to a four-year contract worth $44 million. However, after registering 23 catches for 311 yards and a touchdown in 14 games, the Jets were once again in a market to add more talent to their receiver corps.
Williams will supply the Jets with a big-body receiver at 6-4, 218 pounds, who can bring down contested catches in traffic. During his seven seasons, Williams has averaged 15.6 yards per catch.
In 2021, Williams had his best season after finishing with 76 receptions for 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns. However, his durability remains a significant concern. Williams has only played 16 games in a season twice during his time in the NFL.
The following season, Williams missed the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars due to a fracture in his back. He also missed four other games that year. Williams returned healthy in 2023 but tore his ACL in Week 3 and missed the rest of that season.
During his conference call on Wednesday, Williams said he is four and a half months removed from his ACL surgery and is scheduled to return for the start of the 2024 season. However, he was mum on being ready for the start of training camp, which will be held in late July.
“My main focus is coming in every day, putting in the work, and just continuing to grind,” Williams said. “That’s my thing, everything is on schedule and everything is looking good. So just keep the main thing the main thing and that’s continuing to get better every day and just focus on that.”
Williams has been fortunate to play with some talented quarterbacks such as Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert, during his time in the NFL. Now, he will catch passes from Rodgers, the four-time MVP who was traded from the Packers to the Jets last April.
The hope was the Jets would become Super Bowl contenders with Rodgers under center. However, a season-ending Achilles injury derailed those hopes four plays into the Sept. 11 season-opener against the Buffalo Bills. The Jets finished the 2023 season 7-10 for the second consecutive year.
This offseason, the Jets not only gave Rodgers another weapon to go alongside Wilson in Williams, but they have also fortified their offensive line, which saw 14 different combinations in 17 games.
Williams says playing with a quarterback of Rodgers’ caliber certainly makes his job much easier.
“It also makes their job a lot easier having a guy like me out there that can go out there and compete with him,” Williams said. “I’ve been pretty blessed having pretty good quarterbacks throughout my career. Looking forward to working with Aaron and getting together with the rest of the guys and see where it goes.”
During his visit to the Jets facility, Williams received a breakfast sandwich from Broadway Jets’ X/Twitter account @NYJMatt. The sandwich was a Taylor Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich, and DoorDash delivered it to the Jets facility in Florham Park.
The Jets official account took a video of Williams enjoying the sandwich. Williams eating the sandwich was such a big draw on social media that the Brooklyn Nets also presented him with one during their game against the Pelicans on Tuesday night at Barclays Center.
“This what got the deal signed right here.” – @darealmike_dub 😂
🫡 @NYJ_Matt pic.twitter.com/k8WnqzHviP
— New York Jets (@nyjets) March 19, 2024
Still hungry, @darealmike_dub? https://t.co/km4VLAwqpY pic.twitter.com/GKg5vsHBpx
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 20, 2024
“I actually heard about it on Twitter a couple of days before,” Williams said. “He said he was going to send it to the facility the night before and I guess he found out I was flying in the next day. So I guess he got situated to send it. That sandwich was actually pretty good, for real, for real.”
