HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa Participating In Seahawks Rookie Camp

April 28th, 2024 at 7:20pm CST by Ely Allen

After going undrafted in this weekend’s NFL Draft, Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is set to participate in the Seahawks’ rookie minicamp next weekend, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The younger brother of the Dolphins’ starter, Tua, will attempt to make an NFL roster after starting five years for the Terrapins.

Tagovailoa transferred to Maryland after backing up his older brother at Alabama as a true freshman. He only got to start four games of Maryland’s five-game, pandemic-shortened season, but then he went on to start 37 games over his final three seasons with the Terps. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in his final two collegiate seasons.

The Seahawks are currently set to head into the summer with three quarterbacks on the roster. Geno Smith returns as the team’s primary starter following two Pro Bowl seasons. The team also acquired former Commanders starter Sam Howell in a trade that included the exchange of several draft picks, as well. Other than that, the only other passer reported to be on the roster is Chevan Cordeiro, who Garafolo reports has signed with Seattle as an undrafted free agent out of San Jose State.

Tagovailoa may simply be a camp arm for the Seahawks next weekend, but he will use the opportunity to attempt to show NFL teams that he has what it takes to throw at a professional level. Howell is likely guaranteed into the QB2 role, but there’s always a chance he could beat out Cordeiro for the emergency third quarterback role and earned a contract himself.

Panthers Sign UDFA Missouri K Harrison Mevis

April 28th, 2024 at 6:34pm CST by Ely Allen

After the draft this weekend, the Panthers made the call to bring in some competition for their specialists group. Specifically, the team made the call to sign undrafted free agent kicker Harrison Mevis or, as he was better known at Missouri, the “Thicker Kicker,” according to Joe Person of The Athletic.

Mevis, earning his nickname due to his 5-foot-11, 243 pound stature, served as the Tigers’ primary kicker for the last four years. Over his four-year collegiate career, Mevis made 147 of 148 extra point attempts while converting 86 of 103 (83.5%) of his field goals attempts.

He gained popularity after his first two seasons with the team, in which he made all 69 extra points that he attempted and missed only five of 45 field goal attempts. Over his final two years in Columbia, though, Mevis missed six kicks in each season. Some of his recent struggles with accuracy came from the team’s expanded trust in his range. Mevis was known for his big leg, making 12 successful kicks over 50 yards. He even booted a game-winning 61-yarder as time expired to avoid overtime and walk off a ranked Kansas State team in his senior year.

In Carolina, he arrives to provide competition to the Panthers’ kicker of the past two years, Eddy Pineiro. Pineiro is entering the second year of a two-year contract he earned after converting 33 of 35 field goal attempts in his first season with the team in 2022. Pineiro has a conversion percentage of 89 in his career and is known for having a big leg himself, topping out at 56 yards in the NFL. After starting his career a perfect five-for-five from over 50 yards, Carolina tested him this year, and he responded by making five-of-seven from that distance.

Still, after seeing Pineiro miss four field goals last year and five extra points over the last two, it appears they find it useful to bring in a bit of competition. Pineiro reportedly was not in attendance for Carolina’s voluntary minicamp last week, per Person, so bringing in some added competition may be intended to light a fire under Pineiro and get him back and working on his craft.

Not only is Mevis being signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent, though, but he’s also being signed to a multi-year deal. So, it appears that he will get a real chance to earn the kicking job. Regardless, Mevis will come into camp looking to show the NFL that he can kick in the big leagues.

5 Key Stories: 4/21/24 – 4/28/24

April 28th, 2024 at 5:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

This past weekend saw the 2024 draft come and go, marking a major checkpoint on the offseason calendar. As usual, other key developments took place on the roster-building front leading up to the event, however. In case you missed anything from the past seven days, here is a quick recap:

  • Williams, QBs Headline First Round: As expected, quarterbacks dominated the top of the Day 1 order. Caleb Williams (Bears), Jayden Daniels (Commanders) and Drake Maye (Patriots) were the first three players to hear their names called. Atlanta then provided the night’s largest surprise by selecting Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall. That was followed by a trade-up (albeit a smaller one than many predicted) by the Vikings, who drafted J.J. McCarthy at No. 10. Rounding out the run on signal-callers, Bo Nix was added by the Broncos. A record-breaking stretch of 137 picks ensued after that selection before the next QB, but those six teams each added an intriguing rookie to their depth charts.
  • Chiefs Extend Reid, Veach, Donovan: Andy Reid has faced questions about retirement in recent years, but he put those to rest by agreeing to a new Chiefs extension. General manager Brett Veach as well as president Mark Donovan are also attached to new contracts, and as such Kansas City’s top decision-makers will be in place for the foreseeable future. Reid has climbed to fourth on the all-time wins list during his decorated time with the Chiefs while Veach has enjoyed considerable success alongside him since they joined the team in 2013. Four Super Bowl appearances in the past five years – including three titles – have helped the Chiefs become the league’s most decorated team in recent seasons, and the continued presence of a strong core headlined by Patrick Mahomes means they will likely remain contenders for years to come.
  • St. Brown, Sewell Land Massive Lions Deals: Prior to the draft kicking off, the Lions hammered out deals with two major contributors of their offense. Both wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell signed lucrative extensions keeping them in place through 2028 and ’29, respectively. The former inked a four-year pact averaging just over $30MM per year; it includes $77MM in guarantees, over $35MM of which is locked in at signing. The latter, meanwhile, is in line to collect $28MM per season on his own four-year accord. Sewell’s deal is the most expensive one ever given to an O-lineman and it shatters the record for value in terms of right tackles. Both All-Pros will be counted on to remain key producers for years to come in Detroit while commanding large financial commitments.
  • Eagles Extend Brown: Not long after St. Brown reached the summit of the receiver market, A.J. Brown moved to the top of the pecking order with an Eagles extension. Two years still remain on the pact he signed upon arrival in Philadelphia, but the 26-year-old landed $96MM on a three-year add-on which will keep him in the fold through 2029. The Eagles recently gave DeVonta Smith a three-year, $75MM extension and that pact moved him into a tie with Brown in terms of annual average value. Coming off a second straight 1,400-yard season, though, the latter is now once again the highest earner in Philadelphia’s skill position group. In all, the Eagles have now made four lucrative investments regarding in-house players on the offensive side of the ball this offseason.
  • Jets Deal Wilson To Broncos: Prior to selecting Nix – a decision which many pointed to being on the table – the Broncos acquired Zach Wilson from the Jets. The latter was known to be on the trade block, and New York received offers well before the Denver swap came to pass. Wilson, 24, struggled mightily during his time as a Jets starter and the team signed Tyrod Taylor this offseason to serve as Aaron Rodgers‘ backup. With Wilson’s trade having been worked out, four of the five QBs selected in the opening round of the 2021 draft (all but Trevor Lawrence) have now been dealt to a new team. In Wilson’s case, he will join a depth chart which features Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci. Attached to his rookie pact for one more year, it will be interesting to see how Wilson develops under head coach Sean Payton as he aims to rebuild his value.

Jerry Jones On Cowboys’ Financial Approach

April 28th, 2024 at 3:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cowboys’ lack of outside additions in free agency and movement in terms of extending their top players has been a key talking point this offseason. Many of Dallas’ younger in-house options will be counted on to take a step forward in 2024, while plenty of attention remains focused on the financial futures of quarterback Dak Prescott, wideout CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons.

To no surprise, owner Jerry Jones has faced plenty of questions related to Dallas’ comparative inaction on the market in 2024. Linebacker Eric Kendricks and running back Royce Freeman represent the only veterans brought in to date, and the team’s tight cap situation is a key reason why. As Jones recently stated, retaining any or all members of the Prescott-Lamb-Parsons trio will lead to notable complications elsewhere on the roster.

“Our rules of this game is to have a salary cap,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota (subscription required). “There’s no question we’ve been operating on the credit card. That’s how we’ve had Dak Prescott plus his great supporting cast around him for the last three or four years… So if you decide to have a key player and you pay him to that extent, then he’s going to have less supporting cast around. Look around. That’s the way it works.

“We have known that you were going to basically have to have less in order to have some of the players that we want to have at the prices they are. You got to have less supporting cast. There’s no getting around it.”

The Cowboys have indeed enjoyed having Lamb and Parsons on their rookie contracts while retaining Prescott at a high cap hit. The latter is in line to play out 2024 on the final year of his pact, and while Dallas is hopeful a new agreement can be worked out, the 30-year-old recently suggested he is open to reaching free agency. Prescott could command $60MM per year on a new accord, and Lamb and Parsons could each approach the top of the market at their respective positions.

Especially in recent years, many teams around the league have attempted to get ahead of the curve by locking up top producers early and leaving others to react to a new price point. Jones confirmed the Cowboys are instead taking a different approach with their foundational players. In the case of Prescott and Lamb in particular, Dallas is content to wait for the next wave of new deals.

“We’d like to see some more leaves fall,” Jones added. “We’d like to see some more action… It’s on your mind. It’d be madness not to know that the contracts are ahead. I want to see a few more cards played, candidly. If you got trouble with when the timing is around here, it’s because I’m not ready to go.”

The top of the QB market has surpassed $50MM per season, while the league’s ascending receivers are benefiting from the position’s lucrative nature. Recent extensions for the likes of DeVonta Smith, Amon-Ra St. Brown and A.J. Brown have offered a potential framework for a Lamb deal. The likes of Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle could also push the top of the market even higher.

Lamb is absent from Dallas’ offseason program amidst the lack of negotiations on an extension. Given the way things are headed from a financial standpoint, any new deal (which could avoided for several months since he is set to play out his fifth-year option in 2024) will drastically alter Dallas’ cap situation. That is certainly true of Prescott and Parsons as well (both of whom also are still firmly in the team’s long-term plans), but a patient approach will apparently remain the Cowboys’ preference.

Eagles To Host WR John Ross

April 28th, 2024 at 12:43pm CST by Rory Parks

The Eagles will host wide receiver John Ross during the team’s rookie camp this week, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports. Ross signed a reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs in January 2023 before announcing his retirement in July. A few months later, he had a change of heart, as Kansas City released him from the reserve/retired list so he could resume his playing career.

Ross, who is still just 28, was selected by the Bengals with the No. 9 overall pick of the 2017 draft. His athletic gifts were too tempting for the club to pass up, as the Washington product put up a 4.22-second 40-yard dash at the 2017 scouting combine, a record that held until Xavier Worthy — who was just selected by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2024 draft — broke it this year.

Of course, Ross never had much of an opportunity to put his speed to good use at the professional level, as injuries limited him to just 27 games over his four seasons in Cincinnati. He did show occasional flashes of promise, including a 2019 campaign in which he caught 28 balls for 506 yards, good for a whopping 18.1 yards-per-reception rate. His ability to produce those numbers in just eight games showed what he could do when he was healthy, but on the flip side, the fact that he was limited to eight games that year is indicative of how hard it was for him to stay on the field.

Following a 2020 season in which he was limited to only three games thanks in part to a foot injury, Ross hit free agency. He ended up catching on with the Giants on a one-year deal, catching 11 passes in 10 games for his new squad. He did not get into a game during the 2022 season, and he eventually signed the above-referenced futures contract with the Chiefs.

Obviously, an injury-plagued player who last played in an NFL game in January 2021 is a long shot to make any roster, and the Eagles boast two of the best (and wealthiest) wideouts in the game in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Behind that duo, however, the situation is a little more unsettled. Philadelphia added Parris Campbell in free agency this offseason, but he has hardly been a model of health in his career, and he failed to carve out much of a role for a receiver-needy Giants outfit in 2023.

The Eagles also signed DeVante Parker after he was released by the Patriots in March, and they added Johnny Wilson and Ainias Smith on Day 3 of this year’s draft. So while there is plenty of competition in the club’s WR room, there does appear to be an opportunity for Ross to sneak onto the 53-man roster if he impresses the coaching staff enough to earn a contract and if he can stay healthy. At this point, those are two very big “ifs.”

Texans Host Free Agent DE Dawuane Smoot

April 28th, 2024 at 11:43am CST by Rory Parks

On the eve of this year’s draft, the Texans hosted free agent defensive end Dawuane Smoot, per ESPN’s Field Yates. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, Smoot’s visit was “positive,” and the two sides left the door open to an agreement once the draft dust settled.

The Texans were aggressive in the free agent and trade markets this offeason as they attempt to capitalize on the financial freedom that having quarterback C.J. Stroud on his rookie deal affords them. That was especially evident in the club’s approach to its defensive front, as it added players like Foley Fatukasi, Denico Autry, Tim Settle, and Mario Edwards Jr. to the unit while re-signing Derek Barnett and landing one of this year’s biggest free agent fish, Danielle Hunter.

Smoot would presumably compete for reps with Barnett and 2023 fourth-rounder Dylan Horton behind starters Will Anderson and Hunter. The Texans are plenty familiar with Smoot, a longtime cog of the division-rival Jaguars, and his signing would represent a low-risk, high-reward endeavor for the overnight championship contenders.

Now 29, Smoot was selected by Jacksonville in the third round of the 2017 draft. While it took several years for him to find his footing in the professional ranks, he quietly emerged as a consistent pass rusher, collecting 22.5 sacks for the Jags between 2019 and 2022. That included a 2021 campaign in which he started a career-high 10 games and compiled 36 tackles, six sacks, and 16 QB hits.

Smoot unfortunately suffered a torn Achilles towards the end of a similarly productive 2022 season, which proved to be especially poor timing since he was finishing up the two-year, $10MM deal he signed the year before. Smoot lingered on the open market until last July, when he inked a modest one-year pact to remain with the Jaguars. He was promptly placed on the PUP list due to the Achilles injury and did not make his 2023 debut until the middle of October. In 12 games (zero starts), Smoot recorded just one sack and four QB hits.

Still, now that he is over a year removed from the Achilles tear, it is fair to expect him to recapture at least some of the form he displayed during his peak years in Duval. At the very least, he should be able to serve as a useful rotational pass rusher, and he can likely be had for another low-cost contract.

Houston did not add an edge defender until the seventh round of the 2024 draft, when it selected USC product Solomon Byrd. As such, it seems that nothing that transpired this weekend would preclude the Texans from circling back to Smoot.

Panthers To Retain RB Miles Sanders, Likely To Sign CB Stephon Gilmore

April 28th, 2024 at 11:04am CST by Rory Parks

The Panthers made Jonathon Brooks the first running back off the board in this weekend’s draft, trading two fifth-round picks to move up six spots in the second round to select the former Texas standout. However, the Brooks pick does not impact RB Miles Sanders‘ standing with the team.

As first-year GM Dan Morgan said, “we love Miles. We see a big role for him. He can do a lot for our offense. He’s versatile in the pass game and he’s a really good runner. So we’re excited about him, as well” (via Joseph Person of The Athletic (subscription required)).

New head coach Dave Canales added, “all these guys (Brooks, Sanders, and Chuba Hubbard) are going to play. Look at the history of league. Every team I’ve been on, we used all of our running backs at different points because it’s such a violent position.”

Sanders, who will turn 27 this week, slogged through a miserable 2023, his first year in Charlotte after he parlayed a strong tenure with the Eagles into a four-year, $25MM contract with the Panthers last March (he was the only RB to secure a contract over three years in length last offseason, and his $6.25MM AAV was tops among all running backs who received more than a one-year term). His signing was championed by former HC Frank Reich and assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley, but when Reich and Staley were fired in November, Sanders’ role diminished.

In 16 games last season, the 2022 Pro Bowler handled 129 carries for 432 yards, which amounted to a poor 3.3 yards-per-carry average. He did catch 27 passes for 154 yards, but he scored just one total touchdown. In fairness, the Panthers’ offense as a whole was an unmitigated disaster in 2023, finishing last in the league in both yards and points, and it stands to reason that the team would want to give a talented back another look in a Canales-led unit that has no place to go but up. Plus, while Carolina would actually realize some cap savings by trading Sanders, he likely has no trade value at this point given his poor showing last season and the fact that he still has three years left on his deal, with base salaries ranging between $4.02MM and $5.5MM.

On the defensive side of the ball, we heard earlier this month that Morgan was giving thought to signing cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who played for the Panthers in 2021. Morgan indicated at the time that he would revisit the matter after the draft was over.

Over the past three days, Morgan made just one CB addition, selecting Washington State defender Chau Smith-Wade in the fifth-round. As Person opines, Smith-Wade’s diminutive stature will likely force him into a slot role at the professional level, and since Donte Jackson and C.J. Henderson are no longer in the mix, the Panthers still have a need for a boundary corner to join Jaycee Horn and free agent addition Dane Jackson.

In Person’s view, it is an inevitability that the Panthers will sign Gilmore.

Cowboys Close To Re-Signing Ezekiel Elliott?

April 28th, 2024 at 9:48am CST by Sam Robinson

SUNDAY, 9:48am: The Cowboys did not add a running back on Day 3 of this weekend’s draft either. As Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram relays, Jerry Jones believes that Elliott still has RB1 abilities, and while executive vice president Stephen Jones conceded in his post-draft presser that the team would have considered an RB if the right player had been available, the running back need never aligned with value in the front office’s estimation (via Moore).

Interestingly, last year’s Trey Lance trade is a primary reason for Dallas’ inability to select a Day 3 RB prospect. The Cowboys sent a fourth-round choice, which ultimately became 2024’s No. 124 overall pick, to the 49ers in exchange for Lance in August. After the Niners used that pick on safety Malik Mustapha, five of the next 10 players off the board were running backs. Four of those — Bucky Irving, Ray Davis, Isaac Guerendo, and Braelon Allen — were intriguing to Dallas, which did not have a selection between pick nos. 87 and 174.

While Stephen Jones did not mention Elliott by name when speaking to reporters after the draft was over, Moore says “it was understood” the EVP was talking about Elliott when he said, “we’ll have opportunities throughout to address this running back situation and feel like we’ll get that done.”

SATURDAY, 7:10am: Jones continues to hint that a reunion with Elliott could be coming. When asked why the Cowboys didn’t add to the RB position through the first two days of the draft, the team’s owner pointed back to their former star.

“First of all, the draft’s not over and that’s a thought,” Jones said (via ESPN’s Todd Archer). “And it was a long time before a running back was taken in today’s draft. But we also are keenly interested in seeing what the future might look like with Zeke.”

FRIDAY, 4:45pm: A deal with Elliott remains “increasingly imminent” at this point, something which would remain the case even with Brooks or another rookie being selected tonight, per Moore’s colleague Michael Gehlken. It will be interesting to see if further progress on a Dallas agreement produces a response from the other interested party Jones mentioned, or if a reunion officially comes together in the near future.

12:21pm: The Cowboys separated from Ezekiel Elliott‘s six-year, $90MM extension in 2023, but a reality in which the running back is tied to two Dallas contracts on this year’s payroll appears firmly in play.

Rumblings about an Elliott-Cowboys reunion have surfaced at multiple points this offseason, and the team met with the two-time rushing champion Wednesday. Elliott and his agent met were seen with Cowboys brass at multiple locations Wednesday, and Jerry Jones confirmed (via the Dallas Morning News’ David Moore) team brass “spent a lot of time with Zeke” this week.

Jones also said if (when?) the Cowboys draft a running back Friday night it would not have any bearing on how they approach an Elliott reunion. At least one other known suitor exists, per Jones, but Moore points to this reunion coming to pass. Jones said he thought Elliott played “very well” late last season with the Patriots.

This reunion was believed to be on the radar months after the team made the former star a cap casualty, but Elliott confirmed it did not gain much traction. That is no longer the case. Jones also said the $6MM — stemming from signing bonus proration on Elliott’s 2019 extension — that remains on the team’s payroll will not affect how the team proceeds with Elliott now.

“Not even a consideration,’’ Jones said. “He’s earned that $6 million. We’ve already spent it. You have to pay that whether he’s here or not. It won’t affect one thing with how he would help our team this year.’’

Elliott, 28, played last season on a one-year, $3MM deal. Another suitor being in the mix will likely lead to Elliott commanding more than the league minimum on a Cowboys reunion. While Elliott only averaged 3.5 yards per carry (a career-low number), he was tied to a 4-13 Patriots team that ran into injury issues up front — to say nothing of a woeful passing attack. Elliott started the final five Pats games, due to a Rhamondre Stevenson IR move, producing two 50-plus-yard rushing performances to close a 642-yard season in what amounted to a committee role.

Jones has offered effusive praise for Elliott in the past, even as Tony Pollard overtook him as the most productive Cowboys back. With Pollard in Nashville now, the Cowboys are likely to draft a replacement. Elliott returning would put him in position as a complementary option. Though, Dallas’ RB situation does not feature strong in-house solutions; journeyman Royce Freeman joins 2023 backup Rico Dowdle and sixth-round Deuce Vaughn, who goes 5-foot-6.

Additionally, Jones confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer) Texas running back Jonathon Brooks is “high, high, high, high” on the team’s draft board ahead of Day 2. Jones went so far as to call his interview with Brooks the best he has conducted in 30 years. Playing behind Bijan Robinson in 2022, Brooks played well as a junior last season, accumulating 1,139 rushing yards and 10 TDs. Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board slots Brooks as the second-best option — in what is viewed as an unremarkable RB class — despite the ex-Longhorn having suffered a torn ACL last year. With the Cowboys passing on Derrick Henry and others in March, they figure to be prepared to add here soon this weekend.

Bills Sign WR Quintez Cephus

April 28th, 2024 at 8:52am CST by Rory Parks

Wide receiver Quintez Cephus, who was cut by the Lions last year — immediately after the NFL handed him an indefinite suspension for violating its gambling policy — was reinstated earlier this month. Cephus now has a new employer, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that the Wisconsin product has agreed to sign with the Bills.

After trading Stefon Diggs to the Texans and allowing Gabriel Davis to depart in free agency, Buffalo had a major need to fill at wide receiver going into this weekend’s draft (despite having added Curtis Samuel to its WR room). The club was linked to a blockbuster trade for 49ers star Deebo Samuel before the second round of the draft got underway, and it ultimately landed Florida State wideout Keon Coleman with the first pick of Round 2.

A Deebo Samuel trade no longer appears likely (at least not in the immediate future). And while the Coleman selection and the Cephus signing may not entirely silence the chatter that the Bills need to add more receiving talent, the fact that the team did not pull off a major deal for a player of Deebo Samuel’s caliber does give Cephus a seemingly decent chance of cracking the roster.

Now 26, Cephus was selected by Detroit in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. He caught 20 passes for 349 yards as a rookie and 15 balls for 204 yards in 2021, scoring two TDs in each season. He spent much of the 2022 campaign on IR but had one more year remaining on his rookie deal when the Lions cut him.

Cephus will compete for reps with the likes of fellow offseason pickups Mack Hollins and KJ Hamler and 2023 fifth-rounder Justin Shorter in support of the presumptive starting trio of Khalil Shakir, Coleman, and Curtis Samuel.

Bengals To Move Dax Hill To CB

April 28th, 2024 at 8:37am CST by Rory Parks

When the Bengals made him a first-round draft choice two years ago, Dax Hill was considered the second-best safety in his class, behind only Kyle Hamilton. While Hamilton became a First-Team All-Pro in his second year in the league for the division-rival Ravens, Hill struggled to make the same leap, and as Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes, the Michigan product will be moved to cornerback.

After playing just 131 defensive snaps as a rookie in 2022, Hill became a full-time starter at safety last year followng Jessie Bates‘ free agency defection to the Falcons. Hill’s surface-level statistics were strong enough, as he recorded 110 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, and two interceptions among 11 passes defensed. The advanced metrics, however, told a different story, as Pro Football Focus considered Hill the sixth-worst safety out of 95 qualified players.

PFF was especially critical of Hill’s coverage ability and assigned him a poor 43.0 grade for that component of his game. Plus, as Conway observes, Hill also struggled with communication on the back end of Cincinnati’s defense, struggles that are particularly noticeable when they come from a free safety.

Hill did line up as a corner, both in the slot and outside the numbers, at the collegiate level, and he saw some action at both spots last season as well. Per Conway, the Bengals will allow him to compete for snaps at the nickel and on the boundaries in training camp, and the team believes he can still be a key piece of its secondary.

“We’ve seen [cornerback play] from him and we think it’s the best opportunity right now to help our team,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “He’s a superb athlete, he’s got great size, and he did a good amount of coverage at Michigan, playing inside covering slots, played some outside. The versatility is what made him the pick that he was. We’re really excited for his future. He has done a tremendous job embracing this opportunity, and I’m excited to see him go out there and compete.”

Hill will vie for boundary snaps with DJ Turner and for slot time with Mike Hilton (the team also added TCU corner Josh Newton in the fifth round of this weekend’s draft). Hill’s position change is good news for free agent acquisition Geno Stone, who parlayed a seven-interception 2023 season with Baltimore into a two-year, $15MM contract with Cincy. Stone now looks poised to serve as the club’s starting free safety.

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