JETS SIGN FORMER CHARGERS WR MIKE WILLIAMS ON ONE-YEAR, $15 MILLION DEAL
Former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Willliams signed with the New York Jets on Tuesday, as first reported by CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson.
Williams was released by Los Angeles last week as part of multiple moves by new Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz to get under the cap, which sent the former seventh overall pick into unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. The former first round pick’s cap charge in 2024 was $32.5 million. Williams was due a non-guaranteed $17 million in base salary in the final year of the three-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2022.
As per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Williams’s contract with the Jets is a one-year deal worth up to $15 million as the team adds another proven weapon for Aaron Rodgers. The Jets went into free agency looking to upgrade at receiver and desperately needed another top target opposite Garrett Wilson, who has since proved he can be the team’s no.1 wideout with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to start his career.
Williams, 29, had his official visit with the Jets on Tuesday and had a few more visits planned this week. The South Carolina-born receiver was headed to his native Carolina and to Pittsburgh to speak with the Panthers and Steelers next. The Jets, however, decided not to let him leave the building and put a deal on the table. Williams was pictured at Barclays Center later that night as he took in the Brooklyn Nets game from a courtside seat, only hours after putting pen to paper on his new contract.
Since 2018, Mike Williams leads the entire league in yards per reception (15.9) among players with at least 200 catches and has over 4,800 receiving yards in his seven years in the league despite his nagging injury history. The 6-foot-4, 218-pound wideout tore his ACL in Week 3 of last season but is expected to be back in time for the start of the season in September.
Williams missed a total of 18 games between 2022 and 2023 due to injury and New York is thought to be taking some risk considering his recent health and availability. Williams’ knack for coming down with contested catches and his ability to stretch the field, however, should prove invaluable for Rodgers, who is widely regarded as one of the best deep ball throwers of all time.
The addition of another wideout to the Jets roster means the team’s wide receiver room now has Williams, Garrett Wilson, Xavier Gipson, and Allen Lazard in 2024, although the Jets could still add to that mix in free agency, the draft and undrafted free agency.
Garrett Wilson described the Jets’ wide receiver room a few months prior “As far as the receiver room, we’ve got some great young guys and we’ve got some great vets. But I think another infusion of someone that brought a different thing to the table that gives the defense something to worry about, would be beneficial to everyone, not just me.”
The Jets have made several key offensive moves in free agency over the past week, having now acquired Williams, QB Tyrod Taylor, LT Tyron Smith, LG John Simpson, and RT Morgan Moses. The team also added DT Javon Kinlaw, CB Isaiah Oliver, and DT Leki Fotu to help on the defense.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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