Moved from safety to cornerback this offseason, Dax Hill won a Bengals starting job. It will now be a while before the former first-round pick reclaims that role. The Bengals fear Hill suffered an ACL tear Sunday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Zac Taylor has since confirmed Hill sustained the tear, which will end his season.
The shift to cornerback led to Hill starting the first five Bengals games this season. After struggling to find a home over his first two NFL seasons, the Michigan alum had begun to show promise at corner. Pro Football Focus graded Hill 33rd at the position through five games, but the third-year cover man will not resurface until 2025.
Cincinnati completed the position change to start its offseason program, and while Hill was not guaranteed a starting role as a result of this switch, he earned one opposite Cam Taylor-Britt. Hill had beaten out DJ Turner for the gig; Turner figures to return to the lineup for a Bengals team struggling on defense amid a 1-4 start.
Primarily a rookie-year backup behind Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell, Hill moved into Cincy’s starting lineup after the team let both defect in free agency. The results did not impress, and the team bailed on Hill as a safety starter after one season. Fortunately, Hill’s CB skills — honed partially at Michigan, where he played alongside Turner — gave him a rebound opportunity. But Hill will, in all likelihood, lose most of his first full-time CB season due to injury. That reality playing out would place the former No. 31 overall pick on shakier ground entering a 2025 contract year.
The Bengals let Chidobe Awuzie play out his contract last year, leading the former Cowboys draftee to sign a big-ticket Titans deal. Hill moving to corner meant the team has used three first- or second-round picks at the position since 2022; Taylor-Britt arrived as a 2022 second-rounder, with Turner going off the board in the 2023 second round. This combo will be needed for Lou Anarumo‘s embattled group, as it attempts to salvage the worst of its Joe Burrow-era starts.
This injury also stands to impact Hill’s fifth-year option price. The four-tiered structure makes any Pro Bowl player eligible for the second rung on this ladder, while Tier 3 is for players who played at least 50% of their teams’ snaps over their first three seasons or 75% in two of the three. Hill staying healthy this year pointed him toward the third rung, as he played 100% of the Bengals’ defensive snaps last season. Instead, he will be eligible for the bottom CB option number. That would make it easier for the Bengals to pick up Hill’s 2026 option, but coming off an ACL tear will make authorizing a fully guaranteed salary more difficult for the team.
Will this defense get it together? Is Ossai even playing? Hubbard is quiet as well and the defense gives up too many rushing yards.