The Chargers are bringing in some help at wide receiver while bringing back a familiar face in veteran wide receiver Mike Williams, per Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports.
After one year away from the team, Williams will return to where he’s spent seven years of his NFL career. Williams’ deal is reportedly for one year and worth up to $6MM. The Bolts are reuniting with a player they cut amid a cap crunch last year, but Williams’ value has trended downward since.
Dangling Williams, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and Keenan Allen in trades, the Chargers regrouped with Mack and Bosa — via pay cuts — and traded Allen. Williams ended up with the Jets after his release but did not prove a fit in New York. Seeing two-time Aaron Rodgers teammate Allen Lazard hold a bigger role in the Jets’ offense, Williams languished and only put up 166 yards on 12 catches. A slip that led to a late-game Rodgers interception during a narrow Monday-night loss to the Bills — after which the QB was critical of the WR — appeared to seal Williams’ fate, and the Jets dealt him to the Steelers at the deadline.
Williams, 30, did not impress in Pittsburgh, either. He caught just nine passes in nine games. Other than a game-winning TD grab against Washington, Williams did not move the needle for the then-WR-needy Steelers. They have since traded for D.K. Metcalf, making it clear Williams would move on. The Chargers, however, were loosely connected to showing interest at last year’s deadline. While they did not acquire a receiver then, their outlook has changed since Josh Palmer‘s Buffalo defection.
Palmer, whose role diminished a bit as last year’s Bolts committed more to the run, signed a $12MM-per-year Bills deal to give the Bolts a clear need alongside Ladd McConkey. The Chargers will hope Williams can provide some production on the boundary to complement their new No. 1 target, who does his best work as an inside threat. Williams may not check off every box for the L.A. passing game, but he has a history of production with the team.
The former No. 7 overall Chargers draftee has two 1,000-yard seasons on his resume (2019, 2021). He led the league with 20.4 yards per catch in ’19 and was used more as a midrange weapon in ’21. Helping Justin Herbert grow into a high-end QB, Williams teamed with Allen for seven seasons and fetched a three-year, $60MM Chargers deal just before the WR boom in 2022 transformed that market. Williams’ 2023 ACL tear damaged his stock, and it came after a back injury — sustained in a meaningless Week 18 loss to the Broncos — occurred to close out his previous season.
This coming campaign may be his last chance to bounce back. Soon to be two years removed from the September 2023 tear, Williams will now be a McConkey sidekick to help Herbert in the QB’s sixth season at the controls.
Ely Allen contributed to this post