The possible trade saga of Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Jonah Williams received another entry at the NFL’s spring meetings.
Williams, who requested a trade after the team signed Orlando Brown, was apparently “blindsided” by the move.
Speculation about Williams’ willingness to move to right tackle has dominated the conversation and naturally, it might have an impact on the team’s ability to make his trade request happen.
But team brass remain in a holding pattern on the topic. Executive vice president Katie Blackburn told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com the following: “I’m not sure he said he doesn’t want to be with the team. These things happen. We’re going to try and get our best team out there. We hear his concerns, but at the end of the day we’ll just have to see where it all plays out and if he’s here we’re going to get our five best guys out there. We’ve obviously looked at our offensive line the last couple of years and really tried to strengthen it and I think we’ve done a great job with that. So we’ve got some good options.”
That’s a fine line the team has to walk for a lot of reasons, including being as fair as possible to Williams and not losing leverage in potential trade talks because of public comments.
The reality is that Williams’ big cap hit on his fully guaranteed fifth-year option isn’t an easy thing to move. And the team has to keep in mind that, barring the arrival of an early-round rookie, the currently-rehabbing La’el Collins is their best option at right tackle next year.
There’s no easy answer for the Bengals, with things likely stuck in a holding pattern until after the draft.
