In the latest article on Bengals.com they interviewed Shawn Williams about his offseason. The signing of Vonn Bell certainly puts Williams in a weird position. Bell is 25 and Jessie Bates is in his second season. The Bengals got younger and better at the safety position. Williams appears to be the odd-man out. Or does he?
This is most likely Williams’ last year with the Bengals. He is on the last of his 4 year/$19M deal that he received in 2016. He has been a good but not great player doing the cleanup job rather than making big plays. Williams is a tackling machine and his PFF stats back that up:
| Year | G | GS | Int | TD | PD | FF | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits |
| 2013 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2014 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 59 | 22 | 3 | 8 |
| 2017 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 34 | 15 | 2 | 1 |
| 2018 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 110 | 81 | 29 | 2 | 2 |
| 2019 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 114 | 80 | 34 | 5 | 3 | |
| Total | 106 | 61 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 408 | 293 | 115 | 14 | 14 |
Williams has also been a model of consistency and health, only missing 6 games in 7 seasons. So what is Shawn Williams in 2020? He is certainly going to be a few things: 1) backup safety to Bell, 2) third safety in a three-safety scheme, 3) coverage linebacker for mismatches, 4) tackling linebacker on the edge (think Lamar Jackson spy), 5) special teams contributor, 6) potential captain, 7) locker room leader.
That list is a pretty healthy list and certainly worth it for the depth alone. Williams could also step in as a corner if necessary. As we know CBs get nicked up throughout the season which is why the Bengals secondary really struggled last season. Williams is listed as 6’0″ and 212 lbs. which means he is a a little small to be a starting linebacker (Germaine Pratt is 6’2″ 245lbs, Logan Wilson is 6’2″ 241lbs and Josh Bynes is 6’1″ 235lbs). He is also a little heavy to be a corner (Trae Waynes is 190lbs, WJ3 is 196lbs).
I do not see the Bengals cutting or trading Williams. His level of experience, continuity on the defense and reliability is coveted by the Bengals. Williams was a third round pick and it is not likely the Bengals could get that for him; perhaps a 5th or 6th. It makes all of the sense in the world to keep him around and then test free agency in 2021. I also do not see the Bengals re-signing Williams. He has been a pros pro throughout all of this and Bengals fans should tip their cap to him.