The Cincinnati Bengals are in something of a desperate situation at swing tackle. They decided Cody Ford wasn't the answer, to the point where they cut him loose, and now the main contenders are Jalen Rivers and Javon Foster.
Not the most inspiring duo. Foster was a 2024 fourth-round pick in Jacksonville who the new regime jettisoned out of Duval during final roster cuts last year. Rivers was the worst guard in the NFL this side of Jonah Savaiinaea as a rookie, and his move to tackle is a panicky salvage operation.
At least the oft-insular Bengals had the wherewithal to release Ford, but what's the plan? Do we just roll into the new season with Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims and pray they stay perfectly healthy?
Maybe more will be revealed after the initial 53-man roster reveal. Could a reunion be in the offing?
The Bengals and Jonah Williams should consider a mutually beneficial second stint
Jonah Williams left Cincinnati on rather bad terms. He demanded a trade when the team forced him to move from left to right tackle, making way for Orlando Brown Jr.'s arrival.
Funnily enough, Brown forced his way out of Baltimore to Kansas City because he wanted to play left tackle and the Ravens wouldn't let him. Then, Brown came to the Bengals in the first place because their odd, front-loaded contact structure actually gave him the guaranteed money he couldn't get from the Chiefs.
Overarching point being, it's something of a miracle that Brown landed in Cincy in the first place. It's not so much of a stretch to imagine that Williams could find his way back to the Queen City.
To his credit, Williams sucked it up at right tackle for a season in 2023, played quite well, helped the Bengals, and cashed in as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals.
Have y'all seen the Cardinals lately, though? Not so good. Williams has battled multiple injuries and has generally regressed. However, he's still only 28 years old, knows Zac Taylor's system very well, and is just sitting out there as an unrestricted free agent.
In lieu of someone else like Cam Robinson, all I really have to cling to for hope in the Bengals' swing tackle derby is this quote from Cincnnati offensive line coach Scott Peters on Javon Foster, via The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr.:
Javon, big jump from Day 1 to now as he has taken to the coaching, he has done much better...If you are vying for that third tackle spot, you got to be consistent, reliable and be able to do it on both sides. I think Javon felt better at left in the past, now he went out and played really well at right. I thought he had a good game. It’s good to see the improvement. You see that growth, with more reps, you expect him to develop."
Does anyone in Who Dey Nation want Williams back? I believe he can be a serviceable spot starter in a pinch. Ideally, the Bengals never get to that point, Brown bounces back this year to beat back the notion that he's regressing, and Mims keeps ascending toward Pro Bowl-caliber status.
But Cincinnati's lackadaisical approach to the swing tackle spot in past years is how we got Jackson Carman, Hakeem Adeniji, and Isiaah Prince starting in the trenches deep into playoff runs, and getting Burrow absolutely pulverized. I'm ready to be done with all that nonsense, ya know?
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