Cincinnati Bengals: Jonah Williams lost for the 2019 season

The Cincinnati Bengals were already not expected to be great in 2019, but the loss of first-round tackle Jonah Williams is a back-breaker.

The Cincinnati Bengals may not currently be the class of the AFC North, and they may be in line for a down year in 2019 anyway, but losing your first-round pick is a tough blow no matter how good or bad you’re expected to be.

The Bengals reported they are putting first-round offensive tackle Jonah Williams on injured reserve for the 2019 season with a torn labrum.

Williams, the 11th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, was expected to come in and start for Cincinnati at the left tackle position.

Cordy Glenn on the right side would have given them a solid pair of bookend tackles to block for Joe Mixon and Andy Dalton.

https://twitter.com/Bengals/status/1143586303872835585

This is a huge blow for the Bengals, who will now likely move Cordy Glenn back to the left tackle position and put Bobby Hart back into the right tackle spot.

Williams started every game of his Alabama career — most at the left tackle position after he played his true freshman season over at the right tackle spot.

There were questions about Williams coming into the NFL whether or not he could stick at left tackle when some felt he was better suited to play guard in the pros, but he was adamant about playing left tackle and the Bengals were obviously going to give him a shot.

Thankfully for Williams, he is under contract already, so this injury won’t affect that aspect of his football career.

The Bengals’ offensive line wasn’t terrible last season, but they needed to make significant improvements this year and they had apparently done that by bringing in Williams.

Now, they will have to wait until 2020 to see what kind of impact he’s capable of making.