Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati’s regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day’s highlighted player.
18 days remain until the Bengals’ first game of the 2025 season, and it’s a big week for No. 18 Isaiah Williams.
Isaiah Williams
Age: 24
Year: 2nd
Position: Wide receiver
College: Illinois
Previous Teams: Detroit Lions (2024)
Jersey Number: 18
Williams enters his second season in the NFL and first full year with the Bengals after going undrafted during the 2024 NFL Draft. He spent five years at Illinois where he began as a quarterback before transitioning to receiver for his final three years, starting 30 of 37 games in those three seasons and playing alongside Cincinnati starting running back Chase Brown for most of them.
The Lions signed Williams after the 2024 draft and kept him on the 53-man roster for about half of his rookie season. He caught two passes and returned a punt in two games before subjecting him to waivers. Cincinnati claimed him and played him for the final six weeks of the season. He did not see a target come his way, but he fielded 11 punts (93 return yards) and four kickoff returns (133 return yards) in Week 18 alone.
Contract Details
Williams is in the second year of his three-year, $2,845,000 college free agent contract the Bengals took on when claiming him off waivers. He can earn a base salary of $960,000 this season, which amounts to total potential cash earnings and salary cap hit for the season.
Roster Outlook
If this profile came about a few weeks ago, Williams’ roster chances would’ve been higher. He was arguably WR6 entering training camp and has certainly practiced well enough to maintain that title, but Mitchell Tinsley’s preseason glory now has Williams likely on the outside looking in. He may be able to make a last-second case in Saturday’s preseason finale, but he’s looking more like a practice squad priority than an active roster guy at this point.
Roster odds: 20%
Projected role: Reserve wide receiver
