“I’ve already been through this,” Williams said. “But it feels good because now I can be the first person to show (new defensive line coach Jacob) Burney, as a returning player, what he wants out of his system. I can lead the drills and things like that.”
It was a little more than a year ago when Williams came to his first rookie camp as undrafted free agent out of Clemson.
He impressed the coaches right away, and that continued through training camp and the preseason, but he was among the final cuts because of a numbers game with the defensive line, one of the deepest position groups on the team.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther made it a point to talk to Williams on the bus ride home from the final preseason game in Indianapolis, telling him, “I don’t know how this is going to shake out for you, but I really like you. Whether you make the roster or you don’t and you happen to be on the practice squad, you’re definitely a guy I want to work with.”
After being cut, Williams had interest from other teams to join their 53-man rosters, but he elected to stay in Cincinnati as part of the practice squad. And while he didn’t play in any games, Guenther and head coach Marvin Lewis took the unusual step of having Williams travel with the team to all of the road games.
“I wanted to get him exposed to some of the adjustments we make on game day some of the things we may have to talk about in the heat of the battle,” Guenther said. “It’s always good for a young player to see that stuff.”
In addition to information, those road trips provided inspiration for Williams.
“I know what it feels like not to play,” he said. “Having it taken away from you and just watching as a fan. It made me that much hungrier. I’ve been humbled. I’m not taking anything for granted.”
The 6-foot-1 Williams added 10 pounds of muscle, bumping his weight to 295 pounds. Burney wants him to get to 300 because he thinks he’s quick enough to handle it.
After earning praise for his work on the scout team last year, Williams was promoted to the 53-man roster for the wild-card game after defensive tackle Brandon Thompson tore his ACL in the season finale.
“I love his routine,” Thompson said of Williams. “He learned from the older guys and took all that in. His body’s changing. You can tell he’s been working real hard.”
Williams said he’s eager to see how he fares with the added muscle against the veterans in the regular minicamp next month, as well as in training camp as he bids to make the opening day roster.
“I feel like I got better,” Williams said. “I took it as a redshirt year. Get bigger, stronger, learn the system and just get comfortable out there.”
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