Bengals rebuffed trade interest in William Jackson last year, per report

Despite having the NFL’s worst record last year, the Bengals never became sellers at the NFL Trade Deadline.

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t interest in several of their players, however. One of which was cornerback William Jackson III, who reportedly was drawing trade interest around the league prior to the deadline, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle.

Jackson also revealed he’s fully healed from the labrum issue that cost him two games in 2019.

“It’s nagging, and it’s telling you to fix it. It’s a lot of pain,” Jackson said. “I’m fully healthy and ready to go. I put on some muscle. I play some big receivers this year.”

Jackson, who was a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, is entering the final year of his contract. He’s had an up-and-down career to this point, though he was ranked as one of the NFL’s 10 best man coverage cornerbacks last season. He’ll be one of the two starting boundary cornerbacks once again next season in what could be his final year in Cincinnati.

The Bengals reshuffled their cornerback group this offseason with the additions of Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander while Dre Kirkpatrick departed. Alexander and Jackson are both slated to be free agents next year. Waynes is signed for three years, while rising star Darius Phillips is also under contract for two more years.

Because the Bengals have several big extensions they’re working on in A.J. Green and Joe Mixon, a new deal for Jackson is probably down on Cincinnati’s list of priorities right now. But he’s still an important part of this defense now and hopefully for the long haul.