The Bengals will be losing a couple more of their in-house free agents, with OT Jonah Williams signing with the Arizona Cardinals and TE Irv Smith signing with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jonah Williams is getting a 2 year/$30M deal in Arizona.
Williams was drafted by the Bengals in the 1st round of the 2019 draft. He missed his entire rookie year due to injury, but went on to start in each of the next 4 seasons. His first 3 years starting were spent at LT, but he moved over to the right side this past season, after the Bengals brought in Orlando Brown. Williams initially requested a trade, following the Brown signing, but later rescinded the request and played at RT.
As a player, Williams is about as close as you can get to average. A solid, reliable starter, but not without faults. He certainly had his issues against TJ Watt and Myles Garrett. But the perception of him seems to be a lot worse than his play would warrant, partly due to an over-reliance on sack stats. That being said, his contract is bigger than what I would have given for an average player, even given the positional value.
Though it was widely expected, we now know for sure that the Bengals will need to find a replacement at RT. And with several targets now off the board, they will have to act fast.
Irv Smith, meanwhile, is signing a 1 year deal with the Chiefs for the league minimum.
I used the word “lose” pretty loosely up above there when describing Smith leaving the Bengals. The reality is that they were never going to bring him back. Cincinnati took a shot on him late in free agency last year, but it didn’t work out. Smith ended up losing his job to Tanner Hudson part way through the season.
The Bengals, meanwhile, have already added a new TE into the fold in this free agency period, with the addition of Mike Gesicki.
Modified Featured Image Via: All-Pro Reels (CC)