{"id":32016,"date":"2024-03-20T15:53:38","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T12:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/32016\/wr-mike-williams-key-addition\/"},"modified":"2024-03-20T15:53:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T12:53:40","slug":"wr-mike-williams-key-addition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/?p=32016","title":{"rendered":"WR Mike Williams key addition for win-now Jets, Aaron Rodgers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WR Mike Williams key addition for win-now Jets, Aaron Rodgers\u060c<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<ul class=\"authors\">\n<li class=\"mugshot-shown\">\n<div class=\"author-img\"><\/div>\n<p>Rich Cimini, ESPN editor<span class=\"timestamp \">March 20, 2024, 12:41 a.m.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-overlay\">Close<\/p>\n<ul>Rich Cimini is a writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL on ESPN.  Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years and joined ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast.  He was previously a writer for the New York Daily News and graduated from Syracuse University.  You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>FLORHAM PARK, NJ \u2013 Somewhere in Malibu, Calif. \u2013 or wherever he is this <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/week\/\"   title=\"week\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">week<\/a> \u2013 New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is smiling.<\/p>\n<p>His bosses in New Jersey, in the span of nine days, beefed up his supporting cast in an all-out, intense effort to add a companion to the Super Bowl III trophy that &#8212; in Rodgers&#39; words &#8212; has &#8220;the looking a little lonely&#8221; in the team window.<\/p>\n<p>The latest addition came Tuesday with the news that former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams had signed a one-year contract that could be worth up to $15 million.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline float-r inline-track\">\n<h2 class=\"img-title\">What to know for the 2024 NFL offseason<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-lazyload=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Sources-Buccaneers-Baker-Mayfield-agree-on-3-year-100M-deal.jpg\" class=\"round lazyload\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Transaction monitoring, discounts, exchanges |  Key dates<br \/>\u2022 Top Remaining Free Agents (ESPN+)<br \/>\u2022 Scoring of the most important moves (ESPN+)<br \/>\u2022 Every coaching hire |  Franchise labels<br \/>\u2022 NFL Draft Order |  Top draft prospects<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Rodgers is 40 years old, so there is no building for the future.  General manager Joe Douglas, put on alert recently by owner Woody Johnson, is filling holes with big-name players whose free agent market was depressed due to durability concerns.<\/p>\n<p>That&#39;s how he landed the eighth <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/pro\/\"   title=\"Pro\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">Pro<\/a> Bowl left tackle, Tyron Smith, 33, who signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract (with an additional $13.5 million available in incentives) Friday.  That&#39;s how he got Williams, 29, who underwent left ACL surgery six months ago and surely has plenty of playing time incentives in his contract.<\/p>\n<p>The hope is that Williams and Smith can overcome age and injuries to become what they once were, teaming up with a presumably healthy Rodgers to make last season&#39;s nightmare disappear.  The Jets, who got four plays against Rodgers before his left Achilles gave way, finished 29th in scoring and 31st in yards last season.<\/p>\n<p>Their offensive scheme consisted primarily of a backup quarterback (pick one, anyone) forcing passes to wide receiver Garrett Wilson or throwing checks to running back Breece Hall.  They needed another weapon to take the pressure off Wilson.  That led them to Williams, whose size (6-foot-4) and ability to <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/win\/\"   title=\"win\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">win<\/a> contested balls should be a good complement to the speedy and slippery Wilson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs far as the receiver room goes, we have some good young guys and some great veterans,\u201d Wilson said after the season.  \u201cBut I think another infusion of someone who would bring something different to the table and give the defense something to worry about, that would be beneficial for everyone, not just me.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline inline-photo full\">\n<figure><picture><source data- media=\"(min-width: 376px)\"><source data- media=\"(max-width: 375px)\"><img class=\" lazyload lazyload\" data-image-container=\".inline-photo\" height=\"320\" width=\"570\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"photoCaption\">The Jets are hoping Mike Williams can bounce back from an injury that kept him sidelined for all but three games last season to help their wide receiver room. <cite>Bailey Hillesheim\/Sportswire Icon<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Wilson was a diplomat.  In reality, the receiver room was filled with question marks, none bigger than that of Allen Lazard, who landed on the bench after signing a four-year, $44 million contract in free agency.  Because of this mistake, Douglas had to re-enter the market for Williams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s a starter, but more like No. 2,\u201d said an AFC personnel director.  \u201cThis seems like a solid move for the Jets \u2013 if he\u2019s healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williams missed 18 games over the past two seasons, including the Chargers&#39; playoff loss in 2022. His numbers were average in 2022 (63 catches, 895 yards and four touchdowns).  He hasn&#39;t been an impact player since 2021, when he posted career highs in catches (76) and receiving yards (1,146).<\/p>\n<p>It&#39;s a stretch to think he can get back to that level after three years and surgery, but the Jets don&#39;t need him to be the star of the show.  They have Wilson and Hall to take care of it.  They need Williams to be a complementary player that Rodgers can count on.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline float-r inline-track\">\n<h2 class=\"img-title\">The best of NFL Nation<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-lazyload=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/WR-Mike-Williams-key-addition-for-win-now-Jets-Aaron-Rodgers.jpg\" class=\"round lazyload\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Rams help Stafford on offense in free agency<br \/>\u2022 No more roar: How the Lions improved thanks to the FA<br \/>\u2022 Is Marquise Brown the Chiefs&#39; next 1,000-yard WR?<br \/>\u2022 Explaining the Cowboys&#39; low-key free agency<br \/>\u2022 Raiders still looking for more QBs<br \/>\u2022 The Titans still have work to do in the FA<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Based on past performance, this should be a productive union.  Since 2018, his sophomore year, Williams leads the NFL with an average of 15.8 yards per reception, based on a minimum of 200 catches.  From 2018 to 2022, Rodgers led the league with 6,387 passing yards targeting vertical routes, according to Next Gen Stats.<\/p>\n<p>With Wilson and Williams on the outside and with Hall a dual threat in the backfield, the Jets can attack all areas of the field.  The last time they fielded two receivers with resumes that included 1,000-yard seasons was in 2016, with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.  They have a solid tight end in Tyler Conklin, but they could add some firepower at the position by drafting someone like Georgia&#39;s Brock Bowers with the 10th overall pick, which ESPN analyst Mel Kiper said projected in his final mock draft on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, Douglas has a lot of flexibility with this choice.  By signing Williams and adding Smith, right tackle Morgan Moses and left guard John Simpson, Douglas addressed the most pressing needs on offense.  Now he can sit back and pick the best player, whether it&#39;s Bowers or another tackle or receiver if one of the top three prospects slides \u2014 Ohio State&#39;s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU&#39;s Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze from Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Bottom line: Rodgers&#39; supporting cast is better than it was a year ago.  It&#39;s an older group, with plenty of one-year deals (and injuries), but there&#39;s only one year that matters for the Jets winning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WR Mike Williams key addition for win-now Jets, Aaron Rodgers\u060c Rich Cimini, ESPN editorMarch 20, 2024, 12:41 a.m. Close Rich Cimini is a writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL on ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years and joined ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[689,7594,1888,2236,3892,2067,1087,12126],"class_list":["post-32016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-sports","tag-aaron","tag-addition","tag-jets","tag-key","tag-mike","tag-rodgers","tag-williams","tag-winnow"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32018,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32016\/revisions\/32018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}