5 Bengals in contract years primed for big seasons in 2023

Jonah Williams

Jonah Williams, the displaced left tackle of the Bengals is playing in the last year of his contract. Coming off an earlier trade request when the Bengals signed Orlando Brown Jr. for his starting left tackle spot, the Bengals held firm and did not trade the former first-round pick.

That means that Jonah Williams will be the odds-on favorite for the right tackle job. Do you know how the Bengals know that Williams will put everything into having a big year in 2023?
Well, he doesn't have much of a choice. The right tackle market is not nearly as lucrative as the left tackle market. Only by dominating on the right side will he have a chance for some other team to give him a shot back on the left side. That extra juice to produce should propel Jonah to a very solid 2023 campaign.

Chidobe Awuzie

Chido, as the Bengals fans refer to him, is as solid of a person and cornerback as you can get. Last year after a devastating knee injury in a depressing Halloween loss to the Browns, Chido continued to engage with the team and attend games out of uniform.

His situation with the Bengals is pretty clear cut. They drafted Cam Taylor-Britt who had a superb debut filling in for Awuzie after he went down propelling them back to the AFC Championship game. They also drafted speedster DJ Turner this past year to add significant depth to the cornerback room.

Quality cornerbacks get paid and Awuzie's body of work shows significant value to other teams. 2023 will be a huge bounce back for Chido and will be a likely audition for another team in 2024. Showing that his surgically repaired knee is healthy and he still has his elite coverage skills will be key to unlocking that big payday in 2024.