Former Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Jonah Williams is signing a two-year, $30 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The deal includes $19 million guaranteed, the source said.
Williams will replace D.J. Humphries, the Cardinals’ longtime left tackle who was released Wednesday, just before the news of Williams’ signing broke. Humphries, who tore his left ACL on New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia, was set to have a cap hit of $22.8 million in 2024. Now the Cardinals absorb $13.8 million in dead money.
With the addition of Williams, the Cardinals now have bookend tackles, along with Paris Johnson Jr., who’s entering his second season. Johnson played all 17 games at right tackle in 2023, not moving to left tackle for the season finale after Humphries’ injury.
It’s not certain that Williams will slide into Humphries’ role at left tackle, a source told ESPN. There’ll be an evaluation period for him and Johnson once offseason practices begin, the source added.
Williams, 26, started 59 games for the Bengals in four seasons. A first-round pick in the 2019 draft, Williams was the first selection under current coach Zac Taylor and played the bulk of his career as a left tackle.
In 2023, Cincinnati signed four-time Pro Bowl selection Orlando Brown Jr. to play left tackle, which forced Williams to move to right tackle. Following that move, Williams initially sought a trade but ended up playing out the entire season.
The former Alabama standout missed his first season in the NFL with a torn labrum in his left shoulder suffered during OTAs. He had surgery to repair the injury, which kept him out all year. He suffered a season-ending right knee injury in 2020 and a left knee injury in 2022, forcing him to miss two postseason games.
But once healthy in 2023 and despite being at a new position, he had one of the better career seasons. He posted a pass block win rate of 84.4%, an ESPN metric powered by NFL Next Gen Stats, which was higher than the rate he posted the previous season at left tackle.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss and Ben Baby contributed to this report.
