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Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick Dax Hill suffered a shoulder injury during a win over the Carolina Panthers that only makes things seem direr for an injured secondary.
That’s a secondary that will already miss No. 1 corner Chidobe Awuzie for the rest of the season and had to go without starting slot corner Mike Hilton during the win.
Against the Panthers, starting boundary corner Eli Apple had just returned from a nagging issue and depth piece Tre Flowers continues to battle one. Second-round pick Cam Taylor-Britt has struggled in each of the last two weeks when asked to step into playing time on the boundary.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor kept it vague on the injury front (including RB Chris Evans’ knee injury) right after the game: “I don’t know where it’s going to stand. They’ll have to do some scans, especially on Chris’ knee, Dax’s shoulder. I think those are the two that we’ll have to get some more information on.”
Hill’s important though given his status as a first-round pick and his ability to play all over the defense.
But there were depth concerns even before Hill’s injury. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has been very open this season about not exposing guys like Hill and CTB too much because of the way it could hurt the overall defense and their development and/or confidence.
That doesn’t mean the Bengals won’t rely on their high draft picks for the remainder of the season. And a notable potential free-agent add like Sidney Jones has already found a new home.
But Apple as a No. 1 and rookies trying to learn on the fly that offenses will consistently attack could create big issues for the secondary, even with one of the league’s best safety tandems trying to assist.
As the Bengals sit on a bye, it’s safe to presume the team might at least review the available options because a free agent added now would have an extra week of prep before actually hitting the field for a game.
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