POLL: Is Jonah Williams the long-term answer at left tackle?

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off a really bad loss to the Cleveland Browns. The offense had a ton of trouble getting going on the night, and one of the issues was at left tackle with Jonah Williams.

Williams got beat several times on Monday night that resulted in sacks, and Pro Football Focus has credited the tackle with eight sacks on the season already. There were even issues passing off on stunts from the defensive line, which has been a consistent issue for a few seasons now.

The Bengals took Williams in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He had seemingly fell into the perfect situation for both sides. Cincinnati desperately needed offensive line help and he would be able to play early. However, an injury erased the possibility of playing his rookie season. He then missed six games in 2020 as well, so injuries have also been an issue.

Cincinnati picked up Williams fifth-year option that comes with all first round picks. That means he will probably be on the team through the 2023 season unless the team wants to eat roughly $12 million in dead money. That doesn’t mean the team can’t plan for a future without him starting this offseason.

One major issue is how hard it is to come by even decent offensive linemen. If you go to any NFL fan base, they will want there team to do something with their offensive line. That means trading for one is a pretty tough sell. Teams rarely are willing to give away established veterans for little draft capital. We have also seen Cincinnati’s track record on drafting offensive linemen. Paying a huge bill for an offensive tackle would also mean issues keeping some of the young core players the Bengals may want to keep.

What do you think about Williams future with the club?