NFL Rumors: Jonah Williams Trade Discussed by Bengals, Jaguars Before 2023 Draft

Offensive tackle Jonah Williams was reportedly almost a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

According to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals discussed a trade involving Williams before the 2023 NFL draft last month. Cincinnati ultimately chose to keep him, and the expectation now is he will participate in mandatory offseason activities and start at right tackle for the AFC North club.

Williams requested a trade in March after the Bengals agreed to a deal with left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.

The Brown deal was an indication of what Cincinnati thought about starting Williams at left tackle again, especially after he gave up a league-high 12 sacks during the 2022 campaign, per Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus. Protecting franchise quarterback Joe Burrow is the most important thing for the team's short- and long-term future, and the Alabama product did not do an adequate job of that last year.

"On paper, a 25-year-old with playoff experience at left tackle would be a valuable trade [chip]," ESPN's Bill Barnwell wrote in March. "In reality, other teams will be questioning whether Williams is really an NFL-caliber left tackle or whether they should be trading for a player who doesn't appear to be excited about the idea of lining up on the right side or moving to the interior."

It seems the Jaguars at least considered it, especially after losing right tackle Jawaan Taylor to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.

Yet Jacksonville decided to find Taylor's replacement in the draft and selected Oklahoma's Anton Harrison in the first round.

That leaves Williams back in Cincinnati for what could be one final season. The team exercised his fifth-year option that will pay him $12.6 million in base salary in 2023.

On the one hand, the Alabama product has done a nice job of bouncing back from shoulder and knee injuries that forced him to miss his rookie season in 2019 and appear in just 10 games in 2020. He started 16 games in each of the last two seasons.

On the other hand, he has to improve after earning an overall player grade of 61.2 from Pro Football Focus and allowing so many sacks this past year. If he does, the Bengals will be better positioned to challenge for a second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons.