The Bengals 'dodged a bullet' with Jonah Williams' injury

Jonah Williams' Injury Isn't as Severe as it Could've Been

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

The second-year offensive lineman suffered a right knee injury in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins. 

It was an ugly injury and he was carted off the field, but it wasn't as serious it looked.

"Not as severe as it could be. It'll be a couple of weeks," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. "Had this been earlier in the season it would not have been too long of an injury."

Williams could be out for the season with just four games remaining, but his offseason training schedule won't be impacted by the injury. 

"In some sense you were able to dodge a bullet there," Taylor said. "It's going to be a couple week deal and unfortunately we only have a couple weeks left."

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.

Williams has appeared in 10 games this year and was arguably the Bengals' best offensive lineman. 

"Jonah is a smart guy, he doesn’t really make too many errors," Bengals running back Giovani Bernard said on Monday. "He’s in his playbook, he understands what things need to be done, what calls have to be relayed to everyone else. Obviously he’s a player we want out there, we need out there." 

Rookie Hakeem Adeniji will take Williams' place in the starting lineup. He's made four starts this season. 

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