The Cincinnati Bengals starting left tackle Jonah Williams requested a trade after he heard of the franchise signing Orlando Brown to play the same position. Williams is a solid starter and would have likely been on the move had Cincinnati wanted to cut ties with him. However, they had a different plan for him ahead of this year, and that has come to fruition.
Williams has just rescinded his trade request to the team after hearing that he will be getting moved to right tackle to start there instead while Brown takes the left tackle spot. Williams said, “I’ll be happy to be a contributor on a team where I have so many great teammates. I love everyone in the room, love the coaches, love the fans, I’m stoked.” It was very clear that Williams did not want to be riding the bench anywhere, and wanted that opportunity to play a role someplace.
Williams is a former first round draft choice back in 2019 who has had some good moments and bad ones up to this point. He didn’t play in his rookie season after an injury, then missed the 2022 postseason run with another injury. Williams claims that he’s working his way back even stronger now and will focus ono staying that way with a difficult move to the other side of the line looming.
He talked openly about how he will need to invert everything about his stance and movements now that he’s shifting sides but has confidence that he’ll get the job done. In fact, he’s said that he loves the challenge and that he can’t wait to learn another aspect of the game.
Jonah Williams Ran Out Of Options
There’s no doubt that Williams saw his options dwindling as mandatory minicamp is now upon us. His trade request was declined almost immediately, and the Bengals wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t for sale. It wasn’t anything against Orlando Brown in particular according to Williams, it was just more of an opportunity to contribute as mentioned earlier.
As time has passed, Williams must have realized that Cincinnati would be keeping him. In that case, he might as well buckle down and start learning for a new role in this Cincinnati offense rather than hope for a trade while sitting ono the bench.
This is probably the best-case scenario for both parties. Williams sticks around with his teammates and coaches while learning a new role while the Bengals get to fill not one but TWO positions of need in one offseason. Right tackle might no longer be a question mark on this line while left tackle is considerably taken care of by Brown.
It’ll be interesting to see if Williams can truly translate his game to the other side, and it’ll be worth monitoring throughout training camp and during the preseason if he’s given any time on the field. Or if he’s even healthy enough for game action at the start of the season considering his knee problem.