After the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 10 win over the Washington Commanders, newly-acquired Pittsburgh wideout Mike Williams took what seemed to be a subtle jab at New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Williams, who caught the go-ahead score in the victory, wrote, "Thankful 🤟🏾🐍 #WholeLotta #WeBack #RedLine," along with a picture of his touchdown reception.
The "red line" hashtag was an apparent reference to a Rodgers quote, in which the star QB publicly criticized the veteran receiver in a postgame presser following a loss to the Buffalo Bills in October.
"There's two verticals, Allen's [Jets receiver Allan Lazard] down the seam and Mike's down the red line," Rodgers said after a Monday night loss to the Buffalo Bills. "So I'm throwing a no look to the red line. When I peak my eyes back there Mike's running an 'in-breaker.' Gotta be down the redline."
The red line is a line some teams paint on the practice field about five yards from the sideline to help receivers find the proper positioning on vertical routes. Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Steelers on such a route.
Rodgers on Wednesday was asked about Williams's apparent trolling of him, and the Jets QB, after saying he hadn't seen the post, had a good laugh about it.
"I like Mike, I'm happy for Mike"
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) November 13, 2024
Aaron Rodgers was asked about Mike Williams appearing to troll him on Instagram: pic.twitter.com/HUJpHAS12l
"That's fine," Rodgers said with a laugh. "I don't have one [a reaction]. I like Mike. I'm happy for Mike."
Williams, for his part, denied the post was a jab at Rodgers during a Wednesday appearance on GoJo and Golic.
"I did see the IG post with the #Redline. Was that in reference to Aaron Rodgers' comments?" @mikegolicjr
— GoJo and Golic (@GoJoandGolic) November 13, 2024
"NAH! That wasn't at all! I made a name on the redline. That's how people know me. That's what my game is made of. Check the tape. That's where the ball was caught, and we… pic.twitter.com/ttzOiXx31q
"Nah! That wasn't at all! I made a name on the red line," Williams said. "That's what I'm good at ... Playing on the red line. That's how people know me. That's what my game is made of. Check the tape, check whatever and you'll see a lot of catches on the red line."
"That was just a caption that was needed at the time. That's where the ball was caught at and we won."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Rodgers Had a Surprising Reaction to Mike Williams Trolling Him.
