Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack was shocked when he found out his team was signing left tackle Orlando Brown.
“It really kind of came out of nowhere,” Pollack said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I was not expecting us to be in position to do anything for someone of his caliber. It just kind of came on our radar, with me anyway, the day that we got that deal done. It was exciting. They said, ‘Hey, take a look at this guy, he might be in play.’ I’m like ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Really? Wow!” So, it was surprising. It was fantastic. It was an exciting day for the Bengals.”
The arrival of Brown has resulted in the incumbent left tackle, Jonah Williams, asking for a trade. Pollack says he’d love to have both Brown and Williams in the Bengals’ offensive line room in 2023.
“I’ve reached out to Jonah,” Pollack said. “I don’t want to really spend a lot of time talking about that. I’d love to coach Jonah. I’ve loved coaching him. There’s an old saying that this is a great game and a crazy business. I hope we get to coach him. He’s a good football player. He’s got a bright future. Hopefully it’s still here with the Bengals in 2023.”
Whether Williams has a future in Cincinnati remains to be seen, but what’s clear is that the Bengals are all-in on Brown as their left tackle protecting Joe Burrow‘s blind side.