Mike Williams may have fallen out of Aaron Rodgers' circle of trust after running the wrong route and slipping during a fourth-quarter quarterback interception in Monday's game against the Bills.
Rodgers appeared frustrated in his postgame press conference, saying Williams ran the wrong route on what turned out to be the offense's last play in a 23-20 deficit.
“There are two vertical lines. Allen (Lazard) goes down the seam and Mike goes down the red line.” Rodgers said after the game.. “So I'm throwing a no-look for the redline. I look over there and Mike's running an 'in-breaker'…that must be down the redline. ”
With 2:01 left and the Jets facing 3rd-and-16 at their own 40-yard line with a 23-30 lead, Rodgers took a shot along Williams' right sideline for a big gain.
But the game was nearly over when Williams slipped and Taron Johnson jumped in front of him for an interception.
Rodgers apparently looked at Williams with disgust after the play.
Williams caught 0 of 3 targets Monday and just 10 of 17 targets for 145 yards with zero touchdowns over five games.
The quarterback commented on his remarks about Williams on Tuesday after celebrating a reunion with Jets new receiver Davante Adams.
“If you watch my press conference, you'll see that I started with myself,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“When you make a mistake, it's standard for everyone to say, 'I've got to play better, I've got to make that pitch.' There were a lot of mistakes all night, but just looking at that play. That was the question. “What happened in that play?'' Well, it was two verticals on the right side. Mike had to get to the redline, but it would have been a huge benefit, so I'm not criticizing Mike for anything other than his responsibility in the details of that play. I have great love and respect for Mike. He did great things for us, but he wasn't in the right spot on that play. We can increase it even more if we want, but we all need to uphold standards. I hold myself to a standard of greatness, and there have been times when it hasn't been met. ”
With Adams now a member of the Jets, it will be interesting to see where Williams fits into the offense.
Lazard looks like the player he was in Green Bay again, and his role will likely be significantly reduced, as Adams will immediately be selected as the team's No. 2 target behind Garrett Wilson.
He will make $10 million in 2024, making him the 34th highest-paid receiver in the NFL this year.
The former Charger, who is returning from a torn ACL, saw a significant drop in snaps on Monday (51 percent in Week 6, 71 percent in Week 5), while Xavier Gipson saw significantly fewer snaps in three-receiver sets. increased to
The Jets may try to move Williams at the trade deadline, but they will likely face the same problem the Raiders had when trading Adams.
Williams would be a serious cap hit for anyone looking to sign him, so barring an injury, Williams could be on the bench for most of the season.
