Bengals discussing with 'several' teams for Jonah Williams trade
With six rounds remaining in the NFL Draft, the fate of Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Jonah Williams lies in how desperate 31 other clubs are for his services at left tackle. Williams, who requested a trade back in March, wishes to continue playing left tackle in the league after the Bengals replaced him with Orlando […]
With six rounds remaining in the NFL Draft, the fate of Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Jonah Williams lies in how desperate 31 other clubs are for his services at left tackle.
Williams, who requested a trade back in March, wishes to continue playing left tackle in the league after the Bengals replaced him with Orlando Brown Jr. at the position by way of the largest free agent signing in team history.
There hasn't been much word on interest regarding Williams from other clubs in the days leading up to the draft, but that all changed once the clock started to run last night in Kansas City.
Per Pro Football Network's Tony Pauline, the Bengals have discussed potential trades for Williams with "several" teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets.
We could see Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Jonah Williams traded this evening. I’m told there have been discussions with several teams. The Jacksonville Jaguars had shown interest before selecting Anton Harrison in the first round yesterday. The offensive tackle-needy New York Jets are also showing interest in Williams, but the team would need about $2 million in additional cap space to accommodate the $12.6 million needed to fit Williams on the roster.
Day 2 of the draft and beyond always made the most sense when it came to trading Williams away. Four of the top offensive tackles went off the board on Thursday night, and more teams are in the market for an upgrade at that position.
As Pauline mentioned, the Jets are one of those teams. They were reportedly in on Georgia tackle Broderick Jones and watched as the Pittsburgh Steelers jumped them to take him with the 14th overall pick. New York pivoted to edge defender Will McDonald, but they're still in the market for a left tackle.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also make sense for a trade partner. With eight picks remaining in the draft, Tampa Bay has plenty of draft capital to sacrifice in exchange for Williams. All it could take is one of those picks.
If Williams doesn't get traded tonight, the chances of him remaining in Cincinnati increase dramatically, but plenty of time stands in the way between now and the season.
