36 Shawn Williams DB

Williams logged one interception and one sack in the Bengals' 34-23 victory over the Ravens on Thursday.

Williams additionally forced one fumble and accumulated eight combined tackles. The 27-year-old's impressive defensive performance was key in securing Cincinnati's victory over Baltimore. Williams will once again suit up as the Bengals' starting strong safety against the Panthers in Week 3.

Williams was ejected from Sunday's win over the Colts for a targeting violation on a hit against Andrew Luck, Patrick Brennan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Williams was ejected in the first quarter and ended up with only one tackle. He appeared to be leading with his helmet as Luck was diving headfirst on a scramble play, and the two made helmet-to-helmet contact.

Williams (hamstring) returned to practice during last week's minicamp, Jay Morrison of the Dayton Daily News reports.

Williams was unable to participate in team drills throughout spring workouts due to a hamstring injury. His absence allowed Jessie Bates to run with the first-team defense, but Williams instantly regained his starting role upon returning to the field during minicamp.

Williams (back) recorded 49 tackles, three pass breakups, one interception and two fumble recoveries over 11 games in 2017.

Williams had a solid but unspectacular 2017 campaign, allowing quarterbacks to achieve an 85.6 passer rating when throwing into his coverage while grading out as Pro Football Focus' 34th-ranked safety against the pass. However, he struggled to stay healthy, missing the season opener while recovering from a dislocated elbow and then four more games as the season went on due to a lingering hamstring issue before getting knocked out of the Bengals' regular-season finale with an undisclosed back injury. The 2013 third-rounder remains under contract with Cincinnati for another three seasons and could have IDP appeal in 2018 if he retains the starting job at strong safety.

Williams is doubtful to return to Sunday's game against the Ravens with a back injury.

Williams delivered a handful of big hits before exiting in the second half, but it's unclear when the injury was actually sustained. Josh Shaw has stepped in at safety with Clayton Fejedelem ruled out with a wrist injury.