Who Will Play Right Tackle With Orlando Brown Jr. Set to Protect Joe Burrow's Blindside?

CINCINNATI — The Bengals signed Orlando Brown Jr. to a four-year, $64 million contract on Wednesday night.

The 26-year-old will play left tackle, which means four of the five starting spots are filled: Brown, Cordell Volson, Ted Karras and Alex Cappa are entrenched as starters.

What will the Bengals do at right tackle?

They could hope La'el Collins successfully recovers from ACL surgery and is able to be the guy they thought they were getting when they signed him last March.

They could also hope the right prospect falls to them in the first round of next month's NFL Draft.

They could also turn to Jackson Carman and Hakeem Adeniji, but they seem like backups at this point, especially for a team trying to make a push for their first Super Bowl in team history.

While the Bengals will likely address tackle in the draft, moving Jonah Williams seems to be the most logical choice at right tackle. He spent time there in college, was praised for his versatility when the Bengals took him 11th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft and he's set to make $12.6 million in 2023.

That money is guaranteed since Cincinnati exercised his fifth-year option prior to last season. That move made sense at the time. Williams dealt with injuries in 2022, which led to the team pursuing Brown, but a move to the right side could benefit everyone.

"I’ve been in this league long enough to say we are not wedded to anything," offensive line coach Frank Pollack said earlier this month when asked about Williams playing left tackle. "Tomorrow everything could change and who knows where everyone is going to be. That’s just the nature of the league."

Everything changed when the Bengals signed Brown. That doesn't mean Williams is the long-term solution at right tackle and the transition could be difficult, but it's worth trying.

"It’d be tough. He’s spent his whole career, really, especially as a pro, as a left tackle," offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. "Moving him would probably be pretty difficult. It’s probably not something that he would be necessarily excited about, either. I’m sure as a team first guy, he would do it if that’s what was best for us. But that’s a hard switch to make for a guy that’s played a lot of snaps at left tackle over the course of his career and very minimal at right. He did some at Alabama but as far as a pro, that’s a pretty difficult switch."

It might be difficult, but he has nearly six months to get ready to make the switch. Williams was praised for his versatility prior to the draft. The Bengals might put that evaluation to the test this offseason by moving the former first rounder to the right side.

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