Signing Mike Williams seemed like a good idea for the New York Jets back in March.
The veteran wide receiver, who inked a one-year, $10 million contract, worked his way back from a torn ACL and was available in time for the season opener. The production, however, has been somewhat underwhelming. Williams has pulled in 10 of 17 targets for 145 yards. He was the intended receiver on late-game interceptions each of the last two losses.
The chemistry between Williams and quarterback Aaron Rodgers is visibly lacking. Rodgers suggested as much during his comments following the primetime Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills . The field general threw to Williams deep downfield but was intercepted with 1:52 remaining.
"I was throwing it to the red line, but when I got to about here, I realized he was running an in-breaker so I had to kind of adjust it a little bit. The play is two guys vertical, one guy down the seam, one guy down the red line," said Rodgers, hinting Williams ran the improperly ran the route.
Williams remained down injured after the play and was subsequently evaluated for a concussion.
"He got evaluated for a head [injury], and he cleared concussion protocol, so from that standpoint he's good to go," said Jets' interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich on Tuesday afternoon.
From another standpoint, Williams may see a significant drop in playing time and/or targets in the wake of Tuesday's trade news . With the Jets acquiring former Rodgers teammate Davante Adams, everyone is bumped down one spot on the wide receiver depth chart. Thus far, Williams has played 53 percent of New York's offensive snaps.
"We'll figure that out in the next couple days, how all these pieces kinda fit together. It's an exciting, and a good, problem to have. We've got a lot of different guys with a lot of different skills sets that can do a lot of different things," said Ulbrich.
Adams brings instant chemistry with Rodgers, something that Williams cannot offer. Meanwhile, prior to the Adams trade, Allen Lazard has statistically taken hold of the WR2 role behind Garrett Wilson. Lazard is second on the team with 354 receiving yards and his five TD receptions lead the way.
Between the slow start, Lazard's reemergence , and the trade for Adams, Williams is fading from the Jets' plans.
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