Mike Williams takes shots at Aaron Rodgers in latest Instagram post after Steelers' 28-27 win
The Pittsburgh Steelers reinforced their wide receiving unit on trade deadline day with the addition of Mike Williams. The move paid dividends on the veteran's debut last Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
The former New York Jet star's first catch for his new team was a 32-yard game-winning touchdown, making himself an instant hero in Pittsburgh.
Williams celebrated the touchdown and the win with a post on Instagram on Monday. But he also took a subtle shot at his former Jets teammate Aaron Rodgers. He captioned his collage:
"Thankful #WholeLotta #WeBack #Redline"
The 'red line' hashtag referred to Rodgers' comment about Williams following the Jets' loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6. On the final play before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, the quarterback aired a deep pass to Williams, who slipped, allowing cornerback Taron Johnson to intercept it.
The Jets, who were trailing by three points, never got the ball back as the Bills iced the game with one first down. In his post-game press conference, Rodgers was asked about the interception and he blamed Williams for the interception, claiming he ran the wrong route.
"It's two vertical [routes]. Allen [Lazard] is down the seam and Mike's down the red line. I'm looking at Allen, he puts his hand up and three guys go with him. So I'm throwing a no-look to the red line. And when I peek my eyes back there, [Williams] is running an in-breaker. He's got to be on the red line."
Following that interception, the relationship between the two seemingly broke down as Rodgers targeted Mike Williams only four times in three games before he was traded to the Steelers.
New York's loss is Pittsburgh's gain, as the wide receiver already has more touchdown catches with the Steelers in one game than he did in nine with the Jets.
Aaron Rodgers on Mike Williams trade
While Mike Williams has been holding a grudge against Aaron Rodgers since that comment, Rodgers was empathetic when Pat McAfee informed him while he was live on his podcast last week that the wide receiver had been traded. The quarterback said:
"Mike had a rough injury last year. An ACL is tough to come back from. And he worked his a*s off all offseason, wasn't around for a lot of training camp, he was working on the side."
Rodgers added that Pittsburgh was a good landing spot for the wide receiver and wished him luck:
"Mike's a good guy. He'll be good in [the Steelers'] locker room, obviously got a lot of great veteran leadership. He's had a nice career. And sometimes a change of scenery is great for certain guys... If this gives Mike more opportunities, that's awesome, and we wish him well."
Despite the heartfelt send-off, there's no love lost between Mike Williams and Aaron Rodgers.