Does Jonah Williams Think Sunday Will Be His Last Game With the Cincinnati Bengals?

Jonah Williams could play his final game in a Cincinnati Bengals jersey Sunday, but the 2019 No. 9 draft pick and first building block of the Zac Taylor era isn’t thinking much about the uncertainty of his future.

Or at least that’s what he said.

Thrice.

“I’m not really thinking about it too much,” Williams said after Wednesday’s practice. “We still have a big game against a divisional opponent this week, and we want to end on a high note.”

What Is Next for Bengals OT Jonah Williams?

Williams, who is playing the 2023 season on the team’s fifth-year option, will be a free agent in March. He’s started 48 consecutive games and 58 of a possible 64 since losing his entire rookie season due to a labrum injury in OTAs.

Williams has built a family in Cincinnati, with he and his wife welcoming a baby daughter last offseason.

Does he want to be back with the Bengals?

“I’m not thinking about the future. I don’t really want to comment on it,” he said.

Jonah Williams on the chances Sunday will be his last game in a #Bengals jersey. pic.twitter.com/SQ20lszWIW

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) January 4, 2024

Williams’ past is uniquely tied to his future. It was a little more than nine months ago the Bengals informed Williams in practice — indirectly and in a manner that infuriated him — that he would be making the switch to right tackle after the team signed left tackle Orland Brown Jr.

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It was actually before the Bengals signed Brown, just hours after reports of the team agreeing to terms, that Williams requested a trade. Cincinnati’s front office didn’t acquiesce, and Williams reported to the mandatory portion of the offseason after skipping the voluntary workouts, saying he focused on becoming the best RT he could.

And he responded to the position change by having the best season of his career.

“That’s what I wanted to do coming into the season, is prove a little versatility and have a good year, a good performance at right tackle,” Williams said. “I’d like to think I added another tool to the tool belt.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan praised Williams not just for his performance, but for the way he accepted the situation and didn’t let his personal feelings get in the way of his play or the camaraderie of the offensive line group.

“I’ve always thought Jonah has been a good player for us, so I don’t think that he proved anything that I didn’t know about him,” Callahan said.

“But I will say the way that he handled it was incredibly impressive. I thought that was one of the more impressive handling of a difficult situation from a player that I’ve seen in a long time, where he just buckled down and said, ‘All right, this is what’s going to happen, and I’m going to play really well.’

“And I think he has,” Callahan continued. “He’s a bonafide starter at either tackle.”

Just as he did when reporting in April, Williams is saying all the right things. Or maybe this week is more about not saying the wrong things. Either way, the odds of him being back with the team next season are slim.

Williams is going to command a big salary in free agency, and the Bengals are going into this offseason with several needs. Then again, they’ve learned repeated lessons about how important the offensive line is, and keeping Williams would be the safest move rather than turning to the unknown of a cheaper free agent or draft pick.

But for Williams, the decision is going to come down to more than money, even if he’s not willing to say it.

He’s going to be looking for an opportunity to play LT, and there aren’t going to be many free agents at that position with his amount of experience and upside, as he won’t turn 27 until midway through the 2024 season.

Williams was asked what he learned about this business side of football this past offseason.

“I think the biggest thing is that the business side is, for the most part, completely out of our control,” he said. “The decisions that get made for us are not privy to us. They’re above us. I like to think the business side of things will work themselves out, but there’s a lot of stuff that you don’t have control of.”

That might have been true in the past. But starting March 11, Williams will have unrestricted control of his future.

And that’s likely to result in a couple of moves — one to a new city and another back to left tackle.

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