Last week brought tough news for the Cincinnati Bengals. First round draft pick Jonah Williams is recuperating from a shoulder injury. The offensive tackle will likely miss the entire 2019 season as a result.

For any team news like that would be disheartening. Fans would understandably react to the news with some shock and sadness. However, Bengals fans likely had a different reaction to this news. Many Bengals fans likely weren’t shocked by Williams’ injury. He is the most recent first round draft pick to be sidelined by an injury.

Cedric Ogbuehi missed 11 games in his rookie 2015 season. William Jackson III missed the entire 2016 season because of an injury. The first round draft pick ultimately came back in 2017 and is having a good career since. Injuries have hampered John Ross’ career since being the first round pick in 2017. Billy Price suffered an injury during the NFL Combine in 2018. Then the center played in ten out of the Bengals 16 games last year. Darqueze Dennard and Tyler Eifert were the last Bengals first rounders to have smooth rookie seasons.

Last week’s news was disappointing for a few reasons. Along with boosting the Bengals lackluster offensive line. Cincinnati was hoping that Jonah Williams would get through his rookie season uninjured. Instead, Williams will keep an unfortunate trend going. While presenting a challenge for the Bengals offensive strategy.

Despite this news, all hope is not lost for the Cincinnati Bengals. Time could still be helpful for the Bengals here. With Williams’ injury happening before the start of training camp. This gives rookie head coach Zac Taylor and his staff some breathing room. Giving the Bengals time to regroup without scrambling during training camp.

Williams’ injury will put Cordy Glenn more in the spotlight. Glenn is a veteran left tackle heading into his second season with Cincinnati. After spending his first six seasons with the Buffalo Bills. The Bengals were planning on moving him into being a guard. While having Williams be the Bengals main left tackle; now Glenn will likely return to that position.

All of this presents concerns about the Bengals fitness and training plans. Every NFL franchise deals with injury setbacks every season. Yet, rookie injuries are hitting the Bengals particularly hard. A team could manage losing one rookie to an injury; five consecutive first round draft picks is much more noticeable. For many teams, that would likely prompt a change or multiple changes.

The most disappointing part of these developments is the pessimism it could fuel. Some Bengals fans likely reacted to this news with a disheartening shrug. Partly because it’s the latest chapter in an unfortunate story. The Bengals biggest challenge remains reversing that pessimism and cynicism.