Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dax Hill will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL suffered in the Week 5 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Head coach Zac Taylor confirmed the news on Monday, which leaves DJ Turner to start opposite Cam Taylor-Britt for a secondary that already missed starting slot corner Mike Hilton against the Ravens.
But the long-term outlook is now messier than ever. Hill was the supposed Jessie Bates replacement, then successfully switched to cornerback this year and was doing well.
Now, the team has to make a decision on his fifth-year option in May, but a full-blown ACL recovery timeline means he might not be ready for the start of training camp.
It is a brutal turn of events, especially for Hill, who embraced the challenge of the position change in a professional manner and was beginning to excel. Now, he’ll have to come back from a tricky injury at the same spot and scrap on a depth chart that could undergo big changes in the offseason.
The Bengals defense couldn’t afford to take any hits either after another miserable overall showing as the team dropped to 1-4.
Taylor also revealed that backup offensive lineman Jaxson Kirkland tore his bicep on Sunday and will miss the season, which explains the team signing a player off the Falcons’ practice squad on Monday.
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