Jonah Williams Requests Trade

[*pally*]

per Alber Breer

https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/05/03/nfl-draft-mailbag-texans-eagles-lions

Quote:From Alex Sullivan (@Alex_Sullivan11): Are the Bengals still shopping Jonah Williams?

Alex, they’re not. And if they weren’t going to do it before the draft, my feeling is they won’t do it at all. To me, there are teams (like, say, New England) that could really use him. But unless you’re talking about giving Cincinnati a second-round pick for Williams, it doesn’t make sense for the Bengals to move him, because if he plays well for them in the fall, they’ll get that year of service from him at a trouble spot (and insurance on La’el Collins working his way back from a torn ACL), and potentially a third- or fourth-round comp pick in 2025.
As for where Williams is at, he’s still rehabbing from knee surgery out in California. He’s close to being ready to do football drills, and while there’d be some question as to when he’ll be fully cleared for actual full-contact work, he’s certainly expecting to be full go for training camp. His plan, for now, is to go to Ohio for the mandatory stuff—starting with the full-squad minicamp next month. And the Bengals expect to have him, for the time being, in there as their starting right tackle, opposite newcomer Orlando Brown Jr.

A number of factors played into Williams’s trade request, with the position switch (from left tackle to right) being one and the lack of communication from the team on that switch before signing Brown to a big free-agent deal. For what it’s worth, I do think Williams is in a little better place with the team now than he was a month ago, and I think the Bengals will get a good year out of him, assuming no one comes in and throws big capital at Cincinnati (which could happen if there’s an injury with another team) to get him.