Tag: b.j. hill

Bengals’ B.J. Hill floated as cut candidate

One expert thinks the Bengals could make a surprise move this offseason.

The Cincinnati Bengals will undoubtedly seek defensive line help this offseason, likely both in free agency and the draft.

After all, the team lost DJ Reader to injury before his upcoming trip to free agency and had a severe lack of production, especially as the season continued.

What the Bengals don’t figure to do, though, is make subtractions to the defensive line.

While outlining the Bengals’ offseason outlook, though, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler does float BJ Hill as a cut candidate:

The Bengals’ roster is well-stocked but needs reinforcements, particularly on defense. Expect Cincinnati to attempt to add speed and explosion to its front seven, particularly on the interior defensive line, via free agency and the draft. Many around the league believe Cincinnati will franchise-tag wide receiver Tee Higgins and let veteran slot receiver Tyler Boyd walk. Running back Joe Mixon ($5.8 million cap savings) and defensive tackle BJ Hill ($7.5 million) are among potential cap casualties, though Mixon posted 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns.

On sheer money alone, Hill might look like a cut candidate. While some might suggest the veteran had a down season, despite so little going on around him, Hill posted more pressures (23) than 2022 on fewer snaps.

Given the severe lack of depth and production from the defensive line, it’s safe to say Hill isn’t going anywhere. What this does possibly point out, though, is he might be a restructure candidate (or even an extension that flattens the cap hit?), should the Bengals somehow find themselves strapped for cash.

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B.J. Hill of Bengals with amazing big-man interception

B.J. Hill of the Bengals with a remarkable big-man pick

Nick Mullens of the Minnesota Vikings threw two picks in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday. The second was one he will want to forget and Cincinnati’s B.J. Hill won’t have to embelish.

The 6-foot-3, 311-pound defensive tackle showed great hands and a lot more as he somehow came up with the pick in the second quarter.

There was no return on the play but there didn’t have to be for it to be a Week 15 highlight.

It marked the second straight week Hill had a pick for the Bengals.

B.J. Hill featured in funniest Bengals clip of the year

B.J. Hill was wild for this.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill continues to be one of the funniest and most engaging guys in the locker room any day of the week.

That extends to on-field interactions featuring Hill, too.

It turns out that during last week’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, Hill was one of the players mic’d up.

And in a hilarious clip that is quickly going viral from NFL Films, Hill lines up against the entire Colts offensive line by himself and has a funny exchange. There, he fakes going after the entire unit by himself while the rest of his defense is back and to the sidelines.

Here’s the funny clip, which even features one of the Colts linemen laughing at the play:

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Bengals’ B.J. Hill suffers injury vs. Ravens

Bengals DL B.J. Hill suffers an injury.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill suffered a non-contact injury during Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Right off the snap near the end of the second half, Hill went down without really engaging a blocker. He eventually needed the help of trainers to leave the field.

Hill came over to Cincinnati in that infamous Billy Price trade with New York and has been a key piece of the defense since, earning a lucrative extension.

With Hill down, names like Zach Carter will get more work alongside the likes of DJ Reader for a defensive line already missing Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson playing through injury.

Update: Hill returned to the game in the second half.

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Bengals pass rushers had impressive performance in Week 6

Sam Hubbard and the Bengals DL put on an epic show against the Seahawks — and the numbers prove it.

The defense led the way in the Cincinnati Bengals‘ 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, bringing the Bengals up to a 3-3 record going into the bye week.

In the game, the Bengals became only the fourth defense since 2020 to have four different players have at least six quarterback pressures in one game, according to Next Gen Stats.

Sam Hubbard led the way with nine, Trey Hendrickson had seven, and both D.J. Reader and B.J. Hill had six. Eight of Hubbard’s pressures came against Seahawks right tackle Jake Curhan.

“We have a lot of guys, and it starts with the starters, up front and then those guys coming off the bench,” head coach Zac Taylor said after the win. “Our starting group is just as good as any in the league. And so, again, a lot of credit to those guys up front and in the back end supporting them and making some big plays today.”

The pressure on Geno Smith was very effective, forcing him to throw two interceptions and no touchdowns despite having 323 yards.

In a game where the offense started quickly but wasn’t able to keep that pace up, it was huge for the Bengals that the pass rush was able to show up in such a big way.

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Bengals’ DJ Reader and B.J. Hill earn big praise

More rankings love for key Bengals players.

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Cincinnati Bengals players have been showing up big in rankings this week.

Ja’Marr Chase recently showed up high in rankings, as did offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and even guard Alex Cappa.

Now it’s apparently time for DJ Reader and B.J. Hill from the defensive interior to get similar treatment.

Reader just ranked as the ninth-best interior defender in the NFL, courtesy of Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness:

Reader plays a vital role in Lou Anarumo’s defense, highlighted by his 85.2 PFF grade in 2022. As a run defender, he has earned grades of 69.0 or better since 2017. He produced a career-high 84.1 PFF pass-rush grade in 2022, registering 32 pressures from 310 pass-rushing snaps.

Reader has long been underrated when compared to his overall major impact and that logic also applies to Hill — the guy who came over in that now very successful Billy Price trade.

The rankings slotted Hill 30th and wrote this notable nugget: “Through five seasons in the league, he has never finished with a PFF run-defense grade lower than 65.0. He is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he set a career high with 45 total pressures from 615 pass-rushing snaps.”

The Bengals have created a very good one-two punch on the interior that enables the rest of the scheme to work as it does, so for fans, it has to be nice to see rankings reflect that.

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B.J. Hill honors Germaine Pratt bet, shaves head

A bold bet means a bald Bengals star.

Back in March, Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill made what we called a dangerous bet on the possible return of linebacker Germaine Pratt in free agency.

Pratt ended up re-signing in free agency not too long after, causing Bengals players and fans to call out Hill to honor his bet by shaving his head.

Now Hill has done so as Bengals players report to voluntary workouts, posting a funny message on Twitter with his shiny new look. The team’s official social media accounts also caught some footage of the big cosmetic change for Hill.

Here’s a quick look at those posts and how others reacted to the big change for Hill.

Look: Bengals’ DJ Reader, B.J. Hill show up at Reds game

One got the first pitch and the other was snapping photos.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman B.J. Hill has quickly become a fan favorite after coming over as part of a ho-hum trade and breaking out enough to earn a big-money extension.

There’s also the awesome personality, of course.

It’s a similar story for fellow defensive lineman DJ Reader, who was one of the biggest free agency wins in team history before having an equal impact on the field.

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Hill showed that personality off recently by taking a tour of the stadium at the Cincinnati Reds game, snapping pictures as he went. Reader showed off his arm by throwing out the first pitch.

Bally ports Cincinnati and others, including Hill himself, documented the fun offseason event on social media:

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Bengals fans, teammates call for B.J. Hill to go bald after Germaine Pratt deal

It’s baldin’ time for B.J. Hill, say teammates and fans.

We called it a dangerous bet at the time, and now Cincinnati Bengals teammates and fans want to see B.J. Hill pay up.

Hill jokingly took to social media right before free agency’s legal tampering window started on Monday and said he would go bald if teammate Germaine Pratt re-signed with the team.

Well…Pratt re-signed on Monday, inking a three-year deal with the team.

Fans and teammates celebrated the unexpected bit of news, of course — then Hill’s tweet started circulating again.

Here’s a look at everyone quickly recalling Hill’s comment and some of the best reactions to the Pratt news overall.

B.J. Hill makes bold bet on Germaine Pratt re-signing with Bengals

B.J. Hill takes a bold stance on Germaine Pratt re-signing with the Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman B.J. Hill has made it clear he wants the team to bring back free-agent linebacker Germaine Pratt.

That seems unlikely, given Pratt’s breakout season last year and the Bengals wanting to spend more money on the offensive side of the ball via extensions.

If the Bengals end up losing Pratt to the open market, current names on the depth chart such as Akeem-Davis Gaither and Markus Bailey could step in as opposed to the team bringing on outsiders.

Still, despite what has the feel of an obvious split, Hill isn’t giving up. So much so, he put down what feels like an almost dangerous bet on Pratt returning — with the linebacker even offering a funny response to it:

Funnily enough, Tee Higgins weighed in on the topic too:

We’ll see if Hill holds up his end of the bargain if the mini-upset of Pratt returning to the Bengals happens.

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