In 2009, safety Roy Williams played in four games, recording the 30 tackles in the process. Williams led the Bengals with 13 tackles in the season opener against the Denver Broncos, following that up with an eight-tackle performance against the Green Bay Packers the following week. Williams hurt his forearm in week three against the Pittsburgh Steelers, sat out against the Browns and finished his four-game season against the Ravens in week five. The following week during practice, Williams reaggravated his forearm injury, causing another fracture. He was later placed on Injury Reserve.
Marvin Lewis has never hid the fact that he wants Williams back. On November 13, 2009, Lewis said:
"We know he's a hell of a kid and that he wants to play in the worst way," Lewis said. "The pain and the trauma on the site of where he had the injury is too much. ... I think the medical people just feel the best way is for him to have a couple of options. He'll explore the best option to go forward for his career next year.
"He's a great player, a great person. He's uplifted this building and we want to have all those guys we can have here. Tough guy to lose. But he's empowered other guys to play better and that's what you want guys to do. It's been good for us."
And it shows. Carlos Holmes writes Friday morning that the Bengals are talking with Williams' agent, Jordan Roy. There's a chance that a deal could get done relatively soon, as it seems both sides want a deal relatively soon.