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The Cincinnati Bengals sound ready to be more aggressive in free agency this offseason, perhaps attacking the offensive line alongside a shaky defense.
But what about trades?
The Washington Redskins have granted left tackle Trent Williams permission to seek a trade. And while free agency and the draft is pretty strong at this position for once, Williams is a whole different caliber when he’s on the field and healthy.
Let’s break it down.
Background
Williams’ story lately is a tricky one. He had a life-threatening medical scare with the Redskins and refused to return to the team last year. The team refused to trade him and wouldn’t give him a new deal. Washington then hired Ron Rivera and he tried to patch the relationship while team owner Dan Snyder reworked the entire front office and overturned the training staff. One report says the Redskins won’t cave on Williams’ money demands, though Williams himself just says he’s happy for a chance to play somewhere else.
Pros
Williams is one of the NFL’s best left tackles when he’s on the field. He’s a massive 6’5″ and 320 pounds of elite play, hence a long stretch of grades at 80-plus over the years at Pro Football Focus, with some even in the 90s.
Adding Williams would lock up the offensive line in front of a player like Joe Burrow really quickly. He’d man left tackle, shifting last year’s first-round pick Jonah Williams to the right edge, effectively ending the Bobby Hart experiment. The team would let the battle between Michael Jordan and Billy Price play out at left guard, keep Trey Hopkins at center and either upgrade or let a battle play out at right guard.
And while some might list age as a negative (it could be), Williams has had some time away from the game to get his body right and he’s only 31 years old. Andrew Whitworth is still chugging along at the age of 38.
A Williams trade would mean zero reason to use a draft pick or free agency on a tackle, meaning heavy prioritization of other positions. If he’s getting an extension, it also means both tackles are under contract for a long time while Burrow develops.
Cons
Some of the positives can be flipped into negatives, yes. Williams will be 32 in July and he’s been away from the game. He’s going to want a new deal — which is fair. If Williams is still playing at his elite level, his only being the ninth-highest cap hit among tackles is an issue. But it’s going to be costly.
There’s also the matter of actually getting Williams on the roster. It could end up costing as much as a second-round pick, which is hard to see the Bengals sacrificing, especially when sitting at No. 33 is effectively having another first-round pick.
But…
…that trade compensation conversation changes if the Bengals trade Andy Dalton and get back a second or third-round pick. They’re effectively trading away Dalton’s salary and using the free cap space on a Williams extension while retaining their own picks. Just something to consider.
Verdict
The Bengals aren’t likely to swing something here. Williams is a big question mark given the circumstances around his last year-plus of NFL work and he’d cost a lot to bring to town, let alone to retain for more than a season.
That said, it would certainly be hard to complain about right? The aggressive effort to make it happen would show the team is very serious about fixing the longstanding problems up front just in time for a new franchise quarterback. The draft pick and cap space sacrificed to make such a move happen are unknown quantities anyway — Williams at his best is proven as one of the best.
Again, unlikely — but it’s hard not to think about right now.
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