Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots , we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.
Today, we welcome back running back Trayveon Williams for another season in Cincinnati. It wasn't long ago that Williams was by far the youngest and least experienced tailback for the Bengals. Now he's entering his sixth season in the Queen City and should be considered a lock to make the roster. Let's find out what's in store for the veteran.
Trayveon Williams
- Age: 26
- Year: 6th
- Position: Running back
- College: Texas A&M
- Previous Teams: None
- Jersey Number: 32
Williams was drafted by the Bengals with the 182nd overall pick in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He played 38 games in three seasons for Texas A&M, rushing for 3,615 yards and 34 touchdowns on exactly 600 career carries. He rushed for over 1,000 yards out the gate as a freshman in 2016, becoming the first true freshman to do so in school history. Following his 2017 season in which he ran for just 798 yards, Williams capped his Aggie career by leading the SEC in rushing with 1,760 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2018, earning First Team All-SEC honors.
Texas A&M was where Bengals head coach Zac Taylor got his start in coaching during the early 2010s, and it's also where he looked for his first offensive line coach and rookie running back. Taylor hired his family friend Jim Turner away from A&M two months before Williams was drafted by the Bengals. Williams had familiarity with Turner's blocking scheme coming into Cincinnati, which helped him make the roster in his first two seasons. He rushed the ball for the first time during the 2020 season and finished the year with 157 yards on 26 attempts.
Turner was fired following 2020, and Williams ended up getting cut before the 2021 season as Samaje Perine and Chris Evans took over reserve roles behind starter Joe Mixon. He made the practice squad and eventually played in five games, rushing for 51 yards on 15 carries. He was a part of final cuts again in 2022, but was re-signed to a one-year deal two days afterwards and ended up playing eight games. This was the first year Williams returned kickoffs for the Bengals, with his first coming in Week 11 of the season. He averaged 22.5 yards for his 20 total returns through the postseason.
Williams re-signed to another one-year deal in 2023 not just to return kickoffs again, but to potentially become Mixon's new running mate in the backfield with Perine having left for the Denver Broncos. That role never really transpired as he rushed the ball just 15 times all season, but he did maintain his role as kickoff returner. His 24.2 yards per return average and 12 total returns led the team. He re-upped for another one-year deal this offseason.
Contract details
Williams signed a one-year, $1,292,500 contract this offseason. He will earn a base salary of $1.125 million for the 2024 season, and has a $67,500 roster bonus along with $75,000 in per game roster bonuses. He also earned a $25,000 workout bonus.
Because Williams is a vested veteran, his deal was able to qualify for the Veteran Salary Benefit. His cap hit for this season will only be $1.135 million.
Roster chances
Once more, Williams has eyes on the kickoff return position and a depth role at running back. He's clearly third in the backfield behind Zack Moss and Chase Brown, but as Cincinnati's most experienced kickoff returner, he's got the inside track to keeping his role there as the Bengals embrace the new kickoff format. And with Moss as the newbie and Brown still relatively inexperienced, the Bengals will want to hold onto Williams as a known commodity at running back.
Chances of making the roster: 100%
Previous player breakdowns
Related: Bengals Roster Breakdown: Chris Evans entering last chance territory in Cincinnati's backfield
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