Steelers Seemed To Admit That They "Misevaluated" 1 Key Player During 2024 Season

The Pittsburgh Steelers are always looking for ways to improve the team, whether they get a slight depth upgrade, or a blockbuster deal that sends shockwaves around the NFL. General Manager Omar Khan has been very aggressive since taking over the position. However, he knows when to not overpay for a certain player and when to go all-in on someone. That kind of forward thinking has helped to build a solid core that can produce in the short- and long-term future. 

However, there is one move Khan made in 2024 that was somewhat perplexing. Whether that falls on Sheldon White who is the director pro scouting, or Khan isn't clear at this point. During his weekly Q&A chat, insider Brian Batko was asked about why receiver Mike Williams never saw much action since Pittsburgh traded for him. Batko explained what may have went down behind the scenes after the deal was done.

"I talked to Mike Williams several times after he came over from the [New York] Jets and I never got an inkling that he wasn't healthy," Batko said. "He was practically begging for more opportunities. They may have misevaluated how well he could still play when they gave up that pick for him, but I can't fault them too much. At the time, it made a lot of sense to bring in another piece for the offense, particularly a field-stretcher for Russell Wilson's deep ball."

While Williams was not expected to be a starter, he was still seen as someone that could become a quality depth piece. He was supposed to be George Pickens' backup, as the two wideouts had similar skill sets. In fact, his first game in Pittsburgh ended with a go-ahead touchdown catch that ended up being the key play of a one-point victory. On that play, it looked like he had plenty of gas left in the tank. 

The only reason Williams had that chance was due to an injury to another receiver earlier in the game. That was his only target in the contest, and he did not receive another target over the next three games. Questions started to pop up about why he was nonexistent in an offense that had a gaping hole at wideout, but the fans never got any clear answers on that.

In the last five games of the regular season, Williams saw 12 targets, and he hauled in eight of them for receptions, with most of those coming in Weeks 14 and 16. Besides those two divisional games, he made virtually no impact at all. Even though the Steelers only gave up a fifth-round pick to acquire him, it was looking more and more like a lost trade as time went on, and fans were still getting restless with his lack of usage. 

Clearly, the Steelers did not have much faith in Williams to go out and make the plays that they thought he would when they traded for him. As Batko said, there was no indication that he was injured, even though he never truly had a bye week because of the trade. It was no surprise when Pittsburgh opted to let him walk in free agency and cut their losses. 

Steelers' Former WR Williams Had One Last Stop Before Eventual Retirement

Williams eventually returned to the Los Angeles Chargers, but after getting placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, he announced his retirement from the NFL at the beginning of training camp. The former first-round pick admitted that his 2024 campaign with both the Steelers and the New York Jets was terrible, and whatever offseason issue he had seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

What do you think about the Steelers possibly misevaluating Williams while he was a member of the Jets before they traded for him? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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