Williams ready to lead Bengals O-line
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals retooled their porous offensive line after watching Joe
Burrow get sacked an astounding 70 times in 20 games last season, including seven times in their losing
effort in the Super Bowl.
One of the bright spots in that mess was left tackle Jonah Williams, who was graded out by Pro Football Focus as the Bengals’ best lineman last season. The team’s firstround draft pick in 2019, Williams missed his rookie season but has worked to solidify his future here.
The 24-year-old Alabama product was rewarded by the Bengals, who picked up the fifth-year option
on his contract, which will pay him $12.6
million during the 2023 season.
“I appreciate having at least two more seasons here to really work with my teammates and the guys
we brought in,” said Williams, who is participating in voluntary
offseason workouts. “It just allows me to focus on this year.”
The Bengals also spent big in free agency on three veteran linemen — center Ted Karras, right guard Alex Cappa and right
tackle La’el Collins. Jackson Carman, a
second-round draft pick in 2021, is expected to complete with third-year man Hakeem Adeniji and others at left guard.
“We all kind of know
it’s a business and the team wants to get the
best product on the field possible, so I
think everyone is just going to approach this
season as a competition, even against the
new guys that came in,” Williams said. “I think that’s going to kind of lift all of us up
competing at every position.”
He said the offensive line is well aware that it was a weak spot, especially in the postseason.
“We were in a position where we were fighting to make the playoffs towards the
end of the year, and then suddenly we beat Kansas City at home and we were division champs, and we were
making the playoffs,” Williams said. “From there we were just
stacking our chips trying to keep on going. As you do that, the level of competition rises and everyone is bringing their
best. I don’t think we did enough to step up when we needed to.”
The Bengals gained some respect in 2021 after going a combined 6-25-1 in coach Zac Taylor’s first two seasons.
They finished 10-7 in the regular season and won the division as the traditional AFC North powers faded
in December. They got through without major injuries and widespread COVID-19 issues as was the case in 2020.
Field goals by rookie Evan Mcpherson de
cided five of Cincinnati’s games, including a 52-yarder as time
expired for a 19-16 win over Tennessee in the divisional round and a 31-yarder to give the Bengals a 27-24 win
over Kansas City in the AFC championship game.
They played their way into a Super Bowl
for the first time in 33 years, but lost 23-20 to the Los Angeles Rams.
“I take losses pretty hard,” defensive tackle DJ Reader said Tuesday. “Especially when you get that close. I
didn’t really talk to that many people. My
mom knows how I am. I didn’t talk to my
agent for a while. I didn’t talk to my mom for about a week. Everybody just hung out for a little bit, then I get back and everything is all good.”
Reader said he was heartened to see the organization make the sort of offseason
moves designed to address very specific
needs, such as getting a new crop of defensive
backs in the recent NFL draft.
“It shows they care about winning,” Reader said “We came in and took care of
business last year, made them believe in us a little bit more. They are just going to go out there and keep getting players for us to win and guys that can do a good job. It
means a lot to see them pour into it and
shows how important it is to them as well.”