Bengals' Williams: Rescinded trade request result of miscommunication

Offensive tackle Jonah Williams said that a lack of communication with the Cincinnati Bengals' front office led to his now-rescinded trade request.

"The main issue for me was the way that I found out, the way the communication happened," Williams said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Ben Baby. "Because I'm sitting on my couch. My fiancee is 40 weeks pregnant. Her due date was in, I want to say, three days, and I'm rehabbing my knee and all that stuff."

Williams requested a trade shortly after Cincinnati signed Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency to take over at left tackle, the same position where Williams has started 42 games over the past three seasons.

The 25-year-old Williams said that if the team had been upfront about its interest in Brown and asked that he move to right tackle, while the request would've been "hard to hear," it would've been understandable.

Williams says he still hasn't received much response about the lack of communication prior to his trade demand, but he says that any resentment he may have held is gone and that he's "fired up" to line up on the right side of the offensive line this season.

The Alabama product is entering the final year of his rookie contract, which will see him earn $12.6 million in 2023.

The 2019 first-round pick has missed most of the team's voluntary sessions as he continues to rehab after suffering a dislocated kneecap in the Bengals' win over the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round. The ailment ultimately caused him to miss Cincinnati's divisional-round game against the Buffalo Bills and the AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Quarterback Joe Burrow was happy to see Williams rejoin the fold during minicamp. "Whenever guys have business going on, it's always nice to get them back around the guys and see their face," Burrow said. He declined to go into detail about negotiations related to his extension with the team.