Former Bengals starter catches a massive stray from Steelers HC Mike Tomlin during "Hard Knocks" premiere
Amid their recent whiffs in free agency, signing left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. stands out as one of the better decisions the Cincinnati Bengals have made since their last trip to the playoffs. Brown was having an elite season protecting Joe Burrow before a fibula injury threw a wrench into things back in October. When fully […]
Amid their recent whiffs in free agency, signing left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. stands out as one of the better decisions the Cincinnati Bengals have made since their last trip to the playoffs.
Brown was having an elite season protecting Joe Burrow before a fibula injury threw a wrench into things back in October. When fully healthy, he's a pillar of Cincinnati's offense and an upgrade over the player he replaced in 2023: Jonah Williams.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach reminded his players of that fact last week, and it ended up making the season premiere of Hard Knocks In Season.
During a team meeting, Tomlin addressed his players about the recent roster changes Cincinnati made. He led off with the example of replacing Williams with Brown. Unfortunately for Williams, he caught a stray in the process.
"There's some dudes in Cincinnati sitting in their room to combat the talents of some of you people," Tomlin said. "There's a reason why Orlando Brown is in Cincinnati, because in 2022, Alex Highsmith walked an absolute dog on [Jonah Williams]."
Tomlin proceeded to show a clip of Highsmith beating Williams cleanly for a sack on Joe Burrow. Pro Football Focus charged Williams with two sacks and seven total pressures allowed in that game. Highsmith had three sacks for the Steelers that day.
In the game that was just played on Sunday, it was edge defender Nick Herbig who ended up having a day with a strip-sack and four pressures against Brown, who wasn't playing at 100% as confirmed by head coach Zac Taylor a day later.
While Tomlin's message did get across, the process of replacing Williams with Brown wasn't that cut and dry. The Bengals weren't even interested in Brown until they learned he was interested in them. Once they realized a deal was possible, they quickly acted and Williams got left out to dry. The latter even requested a trade out of frustration.
Williams eventually accepted a position switch from left tackle to right tackle in 2023, but he left the Bengals in free agency this past offseason and signed a two-year, $30 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals. He's only played three games this season due to injury but has allowed just four pressures on 112 pass blocking snaps.
I'd like to think Williams had no interest in watching this episode as he's moved on from his former team. If he did, hopefully he can take solace in the fact that his new team has more wins than the Bengals.
Reactions to AFC North In Season Hard Knocks: Joe Burrow becomes Batman, Mike Tomlin calls his shot in episode one
Reacting to the first episode of HBO’s In Season Hard Knocks series following the AFC North.
