Week 13 is the last chance for Mike Williams' sputtering Steelers career

The Steelers opted to add Mike Williams at the NFL trade deadline in the hopes of him improving their receiver room. The Jets had replaced him, and Pittsburgh had shown interest in Williams in the offseason before he landed in New York. He never found his footing there coming off his injury, but the team still gave up a fifth-round pick to acquire him.

In his three games here, the results have been less than stellar. Surprisingly, his best outing was his first game, despite the fact he wasn’t supposed to play. Thrust into action due to injuries, Williams ended up catching the game-winning touchdown pass. That is his lone reception so far for the team.

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The issue many fans have right now is that Williams isn’t getting a lot of playing time. In a room that features Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin, it seems frustrating that Williams can’t get more reps. Given the fact that he was added in the middle of the season, it takes time for a player to get up to speed. Add in the previous game being off a short week and it made it hard to get Williams involved.

Steelers need to get Williams involved this week

That said, it's now or never for Williams. While I can’t see him out snapping Austin, who has become the de facto second receiving option, he needs to take a clear lead over Jefferson. Jefferson has failed to play at a high level this season, and if Williams can’t get snaps over him, it is a bad sign for his future in this league.

Before this week it made sense. Jefferson was trusted in his role after being here all year. Even if he wasn’t producing, he was implemented far better than Williams was. Coming off a mini bye week, this is the last realistic shot to factor Williams into the game plan. The team has had over a week to get plays set aside specifically for him.

Frankly, at this point, he should be the second receiver in two receiver sets and see the majority of work when the team uses three receivers. At a bare minimum, he needs to comfortably outsnap Jefferson this week. There aren’t any more excuses; he was brought in to be an upgrade in this room and now is the time for him to grasp that.

If he doesn’t, I don’t see a great time that Williams can be implemented into the offense. It may just be a talent issue at this point. Even if his stat line is muted, Williams needs to surpass Jefferson this week. If he can’t, it should be time to temper expectations for him moving forward.