Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor hopes Jonah Williams will be a candidate to man the right-tackle spot for the Bengals in the 2023 NFL season after he lost his spot as the team’s left tackle.

Cincinnati signed Orlando Brown Jr. to a four-year, $64.092 million contract as an NFL free agent this month. After four consecutive Pro Bowl selections, Brown will play left tackle on the Bengals’ offensive line. Williams handled the position over the past three seasons.

MORE NFL:

· BRYCE YOUNG’S HEIGHT DOESN’T CONCERN TEXANS COACH DEMECO RYANS

· IRV SMITH JR. JOINING CINCINNATI BENGALS

· TUA TAGOVAILOA HEALTHY, VIBRANT, HUNGRY, DOLPHINS COACH SAYS

But after Cincinnati acquired Brown, reports indicated Williams requested the Bengals trade him.

“I like everything about Jonah,” Taylor said on Monday about Williams while attending the NFL’s annual meeting. “I’m excited to see him come in and compete at right tackle. He’s always been everything we wanted him to be about. We’ve never had issues with him. Hopefully, we can work through this, and he can come in and compete at right tackle for us. That’s what we’re counting on him to do …

“He’s never been an issue, and I don’t anticipate that being an issue.”

Williams worked as Alabama’s right tackle as a freshman in 2016, then played left tackle in 2017 and 2018. After earning unanimous All-American recognition in his final season with the Crimson Tide, Williams joined the Bengals as the 11th selection in the 2019 NFL Draft.

“I understand there’s comfort levels playing certain sides,” Taylor said. “Trust me, I played quarterback, so I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I’ve got experience moving from right guard to left guard. I know that there’s some reps that need to take place to feel completely comfortable with that. But most of these guys have done it at some point in their career, so they’ve at least got experience doing it, and that’s just the way it will go for us.”

La’el Collins played right tackle for the Bengals in 2022 until he suffered a knee injury in the 15th game and missed the remainder of the campaign. Taylor said Collins’ timetable is “undetermined.”

Collins will count $9.384 million against Cincinnati’s salary cap if he’s on the team in 2023. By picking up their option for a fifth season on Williams’ contract, the Bengals guaranteed the tackle a $12.604 million payday in 2023.

Hakeem Adeniji went in at right tackle for Collins, and Jackson Carman stepped in at left tackle for Williams, who sustained a dislocated kneecap in Cincinnati’s 24-17 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 15 in the first round of the NFL playoffs, and he missed the Bengals’ remaining two postseason games.

Adeniji and Carman remain on the roster. Taylor appeared to envision the right-tackle competition as involving Williams and Carman, a 2021 second-round pick.

“I was proud of his growth this year overall,” Taylor said of Carman. “The whole course of the year, I thought he competed. He wanted opportunities to compete. He’s about the right stuff. I think he and (offensive-line coach) Frank (Pollack) have developed a really good relationship. I know those linemen as a whole were really proud of the way that he performed during the playoffs. Those veterans, he’s earned their respect, so that’s no shock.

“Linemen come in, and the first year is tough and the second year gets better. The third year gets a lot better, so we’ve seen it enough now where that shouldn’t surprise us.”

Williams played all but six of Cincinnati’s offensive snaps during the 2022 regular season before he got hurt in the playoffs.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.