Bengals Rookie OT Jonah Williams Out for 2019 Season With Torn Labrum
By Michael Luciano
It's happened again. The long-suffering Cincinnati Bengals fanbase, who hasn't seen a playoff win since the George H. W. Bush administration, has to witness a promising young player handed a devastating injury that costs him a season.
Rookie offensive tackle Jonah Williams, selected with the 11th pick of the 2019 NFL draft, will miss the entire 2019 season after undergoing surgery on a labrum injury.
#Bengals first-round OT Jonah Williams had labrum surgery and will miss the entire 2019 season, the team announced. Big loss.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) June 25, 2019
The Bengals, who gave the turnstile known as Bobby Hart a three-year contract this offseason and moved Cordy Glenn to guard, haven't seen competent offensive line play since Andrew Whitworth bolted for Los Angeles.
They used the No. 11 pick on Williams, who was a unanimous All-American, All-SEC tackle, national champion, and winner of the 2018 Jacobs Blocking Trophy at Alabama. With his ability to block at the second level paired with his raw power and nastiness as a pass and run blocker, Williams was as high-floor a prospect as there is.
BIG reason Jonah Williams is going to be the 1st tackle taken. Body control & RECOVERY. Not many guys can get out of this bind vs an elite defender. These two had a heck of a battle Monday night. This is insane to be able to sit back down on this. pic.twitter.com/LJTpG8wAYM
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) January 10, 2019
While Williams is expected to make a full recovery, this has to devastating news for Zac Taylor and the Bengals. Cincinnati will have to wait until 2020 to see if Williams can be their next Anthony Muñoz.