Williams played all 13 of his snaps on special teams in Monday's 27-20 win over the Cowboys. With trade-deadline pickup Khalil Herbert fully up to speed with the Cincinnati offense, Williams' already muted role on offense has completely evaporated. He's seen all of his snaps on special teams in each of the Bengals' last three contests.
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Status
ACTIVELatest Trayveon Williams news
Team
Cincinnati Bengals
Birthdate
10/18/1997 (27)
Status
Active
HT/WT
5'8", 210 lbs
Draft Info
2019: Rd 6; Pk (CIN)
Birthplace
Houston, TX, USA
Position
RB
College
Texas A&M
Experience
6 seasons
Career History
Cincinnati Bengals
2019-Present
(6 seasons)
Williams played all 13 of his snaps on special teams in Monday's 27-20 win over the Cowboys. With trade-deadline pickup Khalil Herbert fully up to speed with the Cincinnati offense, Williams' already muted role on offense has completely evaporated. He's seen all of his snaps on special teams in each of the Bengals' last three contests.
Williams played seven of the Bengals' 74 snaps on offense but didn't log any touches in Sunday's 41-24 win over the Raiders. Through the Bengals' first eight games of the season, Williams' snaps had come exclusively on special teams, but he saw his first action on offense Week 9 with Zack Moss (neck) ruled out for the contest. Chase Brown started and dominated the snaps (59) while handling all of the running-back opportunities (27 carries, five receptions), leaving no touches for either Williams or practice-squad call-up Kendall Milton (five snaps). Moss is expected to miss the rest of the regular season due to his injury, but Williams could move back into a pure special-teams role Week 10 versus the Ravens after the Bengals acquired Khalil Herbert from the Bears on Tuesday. Herbert is expected to immediately step in as the top complement to Brown, who is still likely to take on heavy workloads in the weeks to come.
Williams played all 14 of his snaps on special teams in Sunday's 17-7 win over the Giants. Williams has been active for each of the Bengals' first six games but still has yet to play a snap on offense. He'll remain out of the mix on offense as Cincinnati's No. 3 back while both Chase Brown and Zack Moss are healthy.
Williams played 14 snaps -- all on special teams -- in Monday's 38-33 loss to the Commanders. Williams has been active for each of the Bengals' first three games, but he has yet to make his 2024 debut on offense while Cincinnati has turned to Zack Moss and Chase Brown to handle all the running-back snaps. His standing as a part-time kick returner and core member of the Bengals' special-teams coverage units should allow Williams to continue to suit up on a weekly basis, but he may not be guaranteed a substantial role out of the backfield even if one of Moss or Brown were to miss time.
The Bengals re-signed Williams on Thursday. Williams has returned to the Bengals' 53-man roster after he was released Wednesday to make room for K.J. Henry, whom Cincinnati picked up off waivers. The sixth-year running back remains comfortably behind Chase Brown and Zack Moss on the Bengals' depth chart, so he's expected to be used primarily as a special-teamer in 2024.
The Bengals released Williams on Wednesday. Williams made Cincinnati's initial 53-man roster Tuesday, only to subsequently get cut Wednesday to make room on the roster for edge rusher K.J. Henry, whom the Bengals claimed on waivers from Washington. His departure leaves Zack Moss and Chase Brown as the only healthy running backs on Cincinnati's roster, and Charlie Jones may be tasked with returning kickoffs in addition to punts.
Williams had six carries for 22 yards and two catches for 19 yards in a preseason loss to the Bears on Saturday. Williams got the start with Zack Moss and Chase Brown among the many Bengals rested. There's not much fantasy appeal to a 2019 sixth-round pick who has mostly played special teams to this point in his career, but Williams at least appears on track for a back-end roster spot after fellow running back Chris Evans suffered a season-ending knee injury a few days earlier.
Williams is signing a one-year contract to stay with the Bengals. There was some discussion last offseason about Williams potentially replacing Samaje Perine as Cincy's No. 2 running back, but the 2019 sixth-round pick mostly ended up playing special teams a gain. Williams' 156 snaps on offense were easily a career high, but that equated to only 14.4 percent of the team total, whereas on special teams he took 64.2 percent of available snaps (294 overall). He has 77 touches for 381 yards and no touchdowns in 51 career games, and he'll likely be the third-string RB again in 2024.
Even with Chase Brown on IR, there wasn't much room for Williams to make an impact. Only on a few occasions have the Bengals not used Joe Mixon as a three-down back, and Williams is unlikely to dislodge Mixon from that role.