Bengals Activate Darius Phillips, Place Jonah Williams on Injured Reserve

This is a tough blow for the Bengals' offensive line

CINCINNATI — The Bengals placed starting left tackle Jonah Williams on injured reserve on Wednesday morning. 

The 23-year-old suffered a right knee injury in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins. He's appeared in 10 games this season. 

The severity of the injury is unknown, but it looked serious. Williams was carted off the field on Sunday. 

He'll miss at least three games, but with just four remaining, his season is likely over.

We are cursed. Jonah Williams (73) gets his right knee taken out. pic.twitter.com/9DZUUgxryx

— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) December 6, 2020

The Bengals drafted Williams in the first-round (11th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft. They're hoping he can develop into their franchise left tackle. He showed signs of growth this season after missing his entire rookie year with a shoulder injury. 

Another significant injury would be devastating to his development and the Bengals.

"Jonah is a smart guy, he doesn’t really make too many errors. Obviously he’s in his playbook, he understands what things need to be done, what calls have to be relayed to everyone else," Bengals running back Giovani Bernard said on Monday. "He just does a good job of understanding what Trey is trying to get done with the offensive line. He’s really been doing a good job, and I think one of the things is last year, his rookie year, he didn’t really have the opportunity to play much or at all. And then obviously not being able to fully dive in this year. I don’t really know all the injuries but hoping he’s OK and maybe he can come back. I have no idea, I haven’t really heard much. Obviously he’s a player we want out there, we need out there."

The Bengals activated cornerback Darius Phillips from injured reserve. Phillips has been out since suffering a groin injury against the Titans in Week 8. 

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