CINCINNATI — The longest-tenured member of the Bengals‘ offensive line is looking for a commerce.
Offensive sort out Jonah Williams has expressed his want to be traded, a supply confirmed to ESPN on Friday. The request comes after four-time Professional Bowl sort out Orlando Brown Jr. agreed to terms with the Bengals earlier within the week.
Williams, the Bengals’ first-round choice in 2019, has been their main starter since he arrived. However his place because the group’s anchor on the left aspect of the road seemed to be supplanted after Cincinnati landed Brown on a four-year, $64 million deal that included a $31 million signing bonus.
In a latest interview with the Bengals radio group, offensive line coach Frank Pollack stated that is the place Brown will play in Cincinnati.
“He will be our left sort out,” Pollack stated.
The Cincinnati assistant additionally referenced competitors at proper sort out, the place Williams is at the moment slotted to play. La’el Collins, final 12 months’s proper sort out, suffered a torn ACL within the Bengals’ Week 16 win over the New England Patriots final season. Cincinnati additionally signed Cody Ford, a former second-round decide, on a one-year deal.
Williams’ commerce request, which was first reported by NFL Community, got here lower than 36 hours after Brown dedicated to the Bengals and fewer than a day after Ford’s signing was introduced.
After lacking his total first season with a torn labrum, Williams has began 42 video games over the previous three seasons. He began each regular-season recreation in 2022 regardless of struggling a dislocated proper kneecap in Week 5 towards the Baltimore Ravens. He suffered the identical damage in his left knee throughout Cincinnati’s wild-card win over Baltimore, which pressured him to overlook the subsequent two postseason video games.
Williams has been the Bengals’ greatest perimeter cross blocker in every of the previous three seasons. As a sort out, he has led the Bengals in cross block win charge, an ESPN metric powered by NFL Subsequent Gen Stats. He ranked fiftieth in that class in 2021 however dropped to fifty fifth final season. Brown ranked 18th in cross block win charge as a left sort out for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Williams is about to play on the fifth-year possibility of his rookie deal, which is price $12.6 million. That wage ranks 63rd amongst offensive tackles, in response to Roster Administration System.
On the NFL scouting mix in Indianapolis, Bengals director of participant personnel Duke Tobin deferred questions on transferring Williams to proper sort out to the teaching employees. Tobin had reward for the way Williams performed in 2022.
“We picked up the choice,” Tobin stated Feb. 28. “He is gonna be with us. We predict he is an excellent offensive lineman, superb left sort out. Once you play sort out on this league, you are by no means gonna be good.”