Aaron Rodgers made his usual Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, but during a hectic time: The NFL trade deadline.
The beauty of that is that we got a real-time reaction from Rodgers when he heard the news that his teammate, wide receiver Mike Williams, was being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth-round pick.
“Trade deadline day and obviously, Aaron you being on here — pretty perfect for the situation,” McAfee said as he made the trade announcement.
This was Rodgers’ face right after the announcement:
The Steelers indeed were in need of a wide receiver, but there were questions of chemistry between Williams and the New York Jets veteran quarterback.
In a Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Rodgers called him out after running an incorrect route, resulting in an interception. The following day, the Jets traded for Davante Adams which led to Williams’ future being in question.
Rodgers talked about Williams on the show.
“Mike’s a quiet guy. Just kind of goes about his business. Mike had a rough injury last year – the ACL – that’s tough to come back from, and he worked his ass off all offseason. Wasn’t around for a lot of training camp; he was working on the side,” Rodgers said. “But I felt like he was getting better throughout the early part of the season. It felt like his speed was getting better and he was getting more comfortable with it.”
Rodgers complimented Williams on his veteran leadership and locker room presence, but mentioned the decrease in targets after the Adams trade.
“We kind of knew with Davante [Adams] coming in that there would be less targets for everybody. G [Garrett Wilson] is leading the league in targets, he’s gonna get his targets, and Te [Adams] is a dynamic player, he’s getting his targets. So if this gives Mike more opportunities, that’s awesome, and I wish Mike well.”
[Pat McAfee on Twitter/X]
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.