The fifth-year tackle said he was happy to be back in Cincinnati with his team, but clarified he had only requested a trade because of his disappointment with how he had to learn about his anticipated move to right tackle through news reports of Orlando Brown Jr.’s signing.
“The main issue for me was the way that I found out, the way the communication happened because I’m sitting on my couch, my fiancée is 40 weeks pregnant,” said Williams, whose fiancée had their baby girl, Pía a few days later. “Her due date was in I want to say three days, and I’m rehabbing my knee and all that stuff.
“I found out that we signed Orlando on my phone, on Apple News. Actually, had a teammate text me before, ‘Hey, have the Bengals talked to you?’ I was like, ‘No, have a good one.’ I didn’t know what he meant, and so I found out on Apple News. And so then, the following day, my agent was calling the front office trying to get a hold of someone. And he just never got a hold of anyone and no one responded to us, and I just didn’t know what was going on and I just wanted to hear it from them. And the frustrating thing is that I still haven’t heard anything back.”
Williams eventually requested a trade via text, but ultimately, the Bengals didn’t give him permission to seek one, so he and his agent were never able to speak to other teams about potential opportunities. He said he’s not worried about that now, but after starting 47 games for the Bengals, including 37 straight games before he dislocated his left knee cap in the Wild Card playoff game against the Ravens, Williams felt he had earned enough respect to hear something from the front office before news came out about signing Brown.
He said if the Bengals would have told him they had an opportunity to sign someone they thought could help and told him they wanted him to move to right tackle, it would have been difficult to hear, but he believes after a couple of days, he would have been on board.
“I just never got that, so, it was never left tackle, right, tackle,” Williams said. “I know a lot of people made it out to be that. It wasn’t that. There are 64 tackle spots in the league. To have any of them is a crazy, amazing opportunity that I’m super grateful for the chance. So, the plan is to play me at right tackle. I’m fired up to do it. Let’s go.”
Williams has spent the offseason rehabbing after undergoing surgery in February. He had dislocated his right knee cap in the first matchup against the Ravens last year at Baltimore but it slid back into place and he was able to continue playing on it. When it happened again on his left knee cap, it stayed out of socket and ended his season two games earlier than the rest of the team.
At the time, Williams was trying to heal up enough to be ready for the Super Bowl, but the Bengals lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship and it was best for him to then undergo surgery and use the offseason to get ready for a healthy Year 5.
Williams said he should be fully cleared a couple weeks before training camp, and he will be full-go for the start of it.
“It was never like a personal thing,” Williams said. “I love all my teammates, love all my coaches love. Love the team, city, fans. The last couple years have just been amazing, for me personally and for the city, and we really felt that. .... I’m back now (at) mandatory minicamp. I’m going to be back Day 1 of training camp, before Day 1 of training camp, 100 percent, ready to grind, ready to roll. And ready to play where the team needs me.”
Williams said he’s had good conversations with Brown after meeting him this week, and he has no hard feelings about Brown taking his job at left tackle. The two had always spoken after past matchups between the Bengals and Chiefs, just building camaraderie as fellow offensive tackles in the NFL, and Williams said he respects him as a teammate.
Although Williams still hasn’t spoken with anyone from the front office, he has had conversations with Bengals coach Zac Taylor and offensive line coach Frank Pollack and received some clarity there about his position change, and he is working to make sure it’s a smooth transition, though he hasn’t played on the right side since his freshman year at Alabama.
“I’m going to make it (a smooth) one, whether it is or isn’t,” Williams said. “I’m going to be out there everyday doing sets. I think I’ll have a month before training camp being cleared. I’ll have all of training camp to get acclimated. Whether it’s smooth or not doesn’t matter, because I’m going to do it.”
Williams is in a contract year, after the Bengals had picked up the fifth year option on his rookie deal last April, but he doesn’t want to think too much about that. He did say the lack of communication with his position change will factor into his long-term relationship with the franchise, though.
“I wanted to play my whole career with the Bengals, and I don’t know if that’s going to happen,” Williams said. “We’ll see. It was the first thing that ever really showed me that hey, that might not happen. So obviously that’s gonna be on my mind. But the most important thing is just, it’s beneficial for the team, it’s beneficial for me to play really well and that’s what I’m focused on.”
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