The Bengals’ Orlando Brown Jr. signing led to their three-year left tackle starter — Jonah Williams — requesting a trade. The team appears open to accommodating the former first-round pick.
Several teams have shown interest in Williams, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, and the Bengals have engaged in trade talks. Williams, 25, is heading into his fifth-year option season and is tied to a $12.6MM base salary. That figure is fully guaranteed.
Cincinnati’s initial plan was to slide Williams to right tackle, a position he has not played since his freshman season at Alabama (2016). Just as Brown did not want to move to the right side, where some teams viewed him as a better fit, Williams is resisting such a change. Also complicating matters for the reigning AFC north champions: La’el Collins is coming off ACL and MCL tears. With those injuries occurring on Christmas Eve, the former Cowboy is not a lock to start the season on time.
A team that trades for Williams would likely need to view him as an extension candidate, but the 2019 first-rounder is coming off a season in which he suffered multiple kneecap issues. The second of which kept him out of the Bengals’ playoff games in Buffalo and Kansas City. The Chiefs withstood Patrick Mahomes‘ limitations in the latter matchup by preying on a backup-laden Bengals front. This led to the Brown signing, and it could lead the team’s longest-tenured O-line starter out of town.
The Patriots are obviously not averse to acquiring starters via trade, and a low-level Riley Reiff signing has headlined their tackle moves. The Pats were believed to be searching for a right tackle in free agency; Reiff would technically fit the bill, but the ex-Bengal is going into his age-34 season. Trent Brown, whom the Pats initially acquired ahead of the final year of his rookie contract, played 17 games last season but has been unreliable since signing a big-ticket Raiders deal back in 2019. Brown, who is going into the second season of a two-year contract, is penciled in at left tackle.
The Jets have Duane Brown under contract, but he is coming off surgery and going into an age-38 season. The team moved Mekhi Becton to right tackle; the former first-rounder’s position has taken a backseat over the past two years, which have involved major knee injuries that have limited him to one game. Washington has Charles Leno signed through 2024 but was linked to left tackle options ahead of free agency, while Tampa Bay released eight-year left tackle starter Donovan Smith. The soon-to-be 30-year-old blocker also serves as an option for the left tackle-seeking teams around the league, as do college prospects. ESPN’s Scouts Inc. rates five tackles — Peter Skoronski, Paris Johnson, Broderick Jones, Darnell Wright and Anton Harrison — as first-round-caliber players.
While Williams has made 42 starts and played a key role for a Super Bowl-qualifying team, his contract and this year’s rookie class stands to affect his trade value. Collins’ injury will make it unlikely the Bengals cave to Williams’ trade request without a viable return price, so it should not be considered a lock they move the now-disgruntled tackle. But Wednesday morning’s report indicates the team is not shutting down overtures.
Bengals fan base is beyond done with this guy. There’s very little belief that he’ll be any better on the right side than he’s been on the left. Bengals FO, on the other hand, tends to overvalue their own and still likes him. IMO Collins return shouldn’t be expected until mid season, best case. More realistically tho, I wouldn’t count on him at all. Seems to me the best case scenario here would be to get a 3rd round pick for him and draft a RT in round 1. Simply getting his $12.6m cap hit off the books would be worth a trade. They can then go sign a mid tier RT to fill in early.
So you, as a Bengals fan, are tired of this guy and don’t think he’ll be any good….but you want a 3rd round pick for him? Tell me that you don’t think you’ll get anything for Mixon. There was a Bengals fan on another page that thought the Bengals could get a 1st round pick for Mixon. He was suggesting somewhere around 15th-20th
Trading him doesn’t erase the cap hit, it becomes dead money. The bengals only have 500 k dead money compared to over 50 mill in phili. It’s not their strategy. They’d have to fry at least a 2nd I’d think. If they let him walk next year I think they’d still get a 3rd or 4th comp pick. So what we they get this year would have to be worth it.
this is a rams move
Bears Bears Bears
Whitehair for Williams even up. Salaries match. Done deal. Both basically only have 1 more year before being cut anyway for minimal Dead Cap.
It’s a full dead cap of 12 mill for the bengals. That’s not happening.
If they cut him next year he’s only 3 mil dead cap to the Bears, So How can it be 12? Next year is the last year of his deal with the Bears that the idiot Pace gave him. There was even talk of Whitehair being able to play T, But they’ve never tried him there so it’s just talk to me.
No loyalty to the team that drafted him in the first round. He’s the one who did not live up to expectations. Stay and try to get better by learning from superior, more experienced players or go to another team and continue to be the mediocre player he is. Guess he made his decision. He’ll get traded, play a year or two then get released, meanwhile the Bengals are going to the playoffs again and again and maybe the SB. But the good thing is he’s making some good money now so he can afford to buy a big screen tv to watch his former team on.
Loyalty is a meaningless statistic when the goal is to make enough wealth to compensate for soup brain by 30.
Well, he has a college degree to use if football life is to tough for him. He has an obligation to fulfill the terms of the contract he signed 4 years ago. No one is forcing him to play a child’s game for a living. Right now he appears to be a 300 pound baby who wants to take his ball and go home, so maybe playing a kids game for a living is where he should be. Retire from the NFL, get a job in the private sector and get up every day to go to work and see how fast he wants to come back. If he was a superstar maybe he would have a leg to stand on, but his helper has gone to Denver, so he has no running back to help him block, which will make his shortcomings even more evident.
Did he say that he wasn’t playing? The Bengals are the ones that replaced him. He’s asking for a trade. I’m sure if he’s not traded, he’ll show up if he wants to get paid
Bengals are in win now mode. I agree moving on from Williams and trading him for draft capital. I think you go with Collins at RT and if he isn’t ready you have Carman, Ford and Adeniji battle it out for the starter. Bengals need to use there early draft picks on a TE, RB and Corner…
As a lifelong Bengals fan, I was excited when they drafted him, but then he was hurt the first two years and hasn’t been that great since. I don’t know why another team would want him as a starter. As for the Bengals, I’m hoping Darnell Wright falls to them and he can play right tackle and then in a few years if they move on from Brown Jr., he could move over to left.
Check over the cap. Cutting or trading him still leaves the full 12.6 mill dead cap hit.
He rides the bench all year and signs elsewhere next year the my get a 4th or 5th comp pick. He starts even half the year at RT bengals get a 3rd.
I can’t see them trading him for less then a 2nd. They have more cap room so could take a player back but I don’t know who’s trading them a good corner for him.