Tag: Mike Hilton

Mike Hilton recruits major free agent name to Bengals

Mike Hilton does his part to help the Bengals in free agency.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton has acted as a recruit for big names in free agency in the past, though he hasn’t been seen doing it much this year.

Until now, that is.

Friday, Hilton popped up on social media and sent a recruiting message to free-agent cornerback Xavien Howard.

Howard, going on 31 years old, only played in 13 games last year while battling injuries and ultimately getting released by Miami. He’s a former All-Pro, though, and the type of possible prove-it deal the Bengals might like. He notably has a link to current defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo after their days with the Dolphins together.

Hilton’s pitch comes on the heels of earlier news that the Bengals submitted an offer to another free agent who chose to sign elsewhere as they seek depth options after Chidobe Awuzie’s departure.

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Bengals’ Mike Hilton recalls ‘Burrowhead’ comments before rematch with Chiefs

Mike Hilton on the infamous trash talk featuring the Chiefs.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton created a storm of talk around the AFC title game against the Kansas City Chiefs last year due to his “Burrowhead” comments.

Roughly a year later, he’s more focused on redeeming his on-field play than worrying about how that comment resonates today.

“It doesn’t bother me anymore. I thought about taking it back, but that’s not me,” Hilton said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “I probably had one of the worst games of my career. It’s a humbling experience.”

Hilton went on to say he doesn’t regret the comments, preferring to focus on the team slant: “To go against those guys means a lot. To go there, it means a lot. To re-do my performance from last year would be big. It might help us get in position to win this game. I’m expecting them to come my way . I’ll be ready.”

At the time, Hilton’s comments were merely sideline banter with teammates that cameras happened to pick up, but they erupted into the ultimate form of bulletin board material.

Despite all of the chatter and controversy before the game, it was still a three-point outcome even with one of Hilton’s self-described worst games of his career.

Clearly, redemption for Hilton is less about talk and more about keeping his team’s playoff hopes alive.

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Mike Hilton points out what hurts Bengals most in AFC North battles

Mike Hilton is right about Bengals problems in the AFC North.

The Cincinnati Bengals hit 0-5 in the AFC North with the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers over the weekend.

As a whole, the Zac Taylor era has seen the Bengals struggle in their own division, though some of those occurred without Joe Burrow or when the franchise quarterback was out injured or limited.

But for veteran cornerback Mike Hilton, the 34-11 blowout was something more problematic.

“Physicality and turnovers. You do those two things, you definitely win the division,” Hilton said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “That’s kind of what happened today. They hit us with some explosives and a couple of turnovers on our side of the 50. We just weren’t able to get off the field defensively when we needed to. I would say we just haven’t played up to our standards, especially in our own division.”

Hilton would know, considering he’s played for multiple teams in the division.

And it’s a point worth considering, too. Typically in the losses, it’s the Bengals losing the battle at the line of scrimmage and one could point to emulating teams like the Chiefs as opposed to prioritizing divisional play that can lead to hiccups like this.

Of course, everything changes with a player like Burrow on the field, but Hilton certainly isn’t wrong in his assessment of the holiday debacle.

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Bengals’ Mike Hilton quietly having another strong season

Mike Hilton is at it again for the Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton continues to quietly have another fantastic season for the Bengals.

One of the best indicators of this is highlighting specific areas of a player’s game. And one of the best around the Bengals this week is the revelation from Pro Football Focus that Hilton has the third-best grade among defensive backs in coverage this year without allowing a touchdown.

It’s especially impressive considering Hilton has largely been the only veteran presence for the secondary this year after the youth movement there.

While things have understandably been far from perfect for the defense as this year’s transition to a younger core went through some growing pains, having Hilton there playing this well has been an overlooked silver lining once again.

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Bengals’ Mike Hilton visits elementary school for good cause

An awesome gesture by Bengals CB Mike Hilton.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton recently visited Woodford Academy to help first-graders learn about the game of football.

With a little extra time off before “Monday Night Football” against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Hilton made the stop while working with the company “Future Fans”.

“It was exciting seeing the smile on kids’ faces, knowing I have two kids of my own and knowing how much the youth means to me personally; it’s a blessing to give back,” Hilton, according to WLWT’s Ashley Kirklen.

Hilton has said in the past that he wants to spread the game of football because he knows what an impact it has had on his life. The Future Fans partnership actually started back during Cincinnati’s Super Bowl run and this isn’t the last time this year that Bengals players will visit schools in the area with the same goal.

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Mike Hilton was PFF’s highest graded DB in NFL for Week 8

Bengals CB Mike Hilton deserves the spotlight.

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the San Fransisco 49ers by two touchdowns in Week 8, holding what has been a powerful offense to 17 points, and cornerback Mike Hilton was a big part of that performance.

Hilton was the highest-rated defensive back in the entire NFL for Week 8, grading out at a 91.7 on Pro Football Focus. In the game he had four tackles, one for a loss and matched up well with 49ers receivers.

So far this season in seven games he has three passes broken up, 27 tackles, and one interception, putting together the beginning of another solid year with the Bengals.

Hilton is in his third season with Cincinnati after spending his first four with the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers, and has been a key to turning the Bengals defense around from where it was before they were a Super Bowl contending team.

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Mike Hilton joins Bengals 2023 team captains

A look at 2023 Bengals team captains.

The Cincinnati Bengals announced 2023 team captains, adding in cornerback Mike Hilton in place of a couple of departures.

With veteran safety Michael Thomas on the practice squad and Vonn Bell gone via free agency, the Bengals added Hilton to the list during Monday’s official announcement:

  • QB Joe Burrow
  • DL DJ Reader
  • DL Sam Hubbard
  • OL Ted Karras
  • RB Joe Mixon
  • CB Mike Hilton

The veteran cornerback felt like one of the “snubs” over the last few years, so it feels like the right time for it to happen here.

Hilton dropped a comment above the announcement as soon as the team made it official:

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Mike Hilton: Young Bengals defenders have ‘big shoes to fill’

A Bengals veteran is excited for new faces to step up.

The Cincinnati Bengals regular season is approaching quickly with expectations still very after they have made it to back-to-back AFC Championships and almost won a Super Bowl.

Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton believes even after losing a few key defensive players, they will still be fine on that end of the ball with some young players taking their spots. He believes with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo they can still make a run at a third straight year in the AFC title game, or even a Super Bowl win.

“We know those guys are ready and they’re stepping into some big shoes to fill,” Hilton said. “But we feel like as a defense as a whole we’ve been with Lou for so long and know what he likes to call. Communication and chemistry just flows throughout the defense and we’re going to show it throughout the season.”

Hilton also said they will be taking the season one game at a time, so the expectations of making a deep run in the playoffs again don’t get to them. He believes the Bengals talent is good enough that they can make it back if they just take it one play at a time.

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Mike Hilton has simple answer to Odell Beckham’s Bengals hot take

Mike Hilton responds.

The Cincinnati Bengals caught a bit of trash talk earlier this week from current Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in an unexpected way.

Beckham, talking about his performance with the Los Angeles Rams during the Super Bowl two years ago, effectively said he would have gone for 200-plus yards in a 20-plus-point win if he hadn’t suffered an injury against the Bengals in that game.

Naturally, at least one Bengals player was asked about these comments in the following days. Cornerback Mike Hilton had a simple, effective response: “We’ll see you Week 2. That’s all I got to say.”

Joe Danneman of Fox 19 captured the response, which sets the table nicely for Bengals-Ravens in Week 2:

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Mike Hilton praised as underrated, helping Bengals ‘big brother’ over Steelers

Some fun commentary on Bengals CB Mike Hilton and the Steelers.

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Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton is one of the NFL’s most underrated cornerbacks in the mind of analyst Cameron Wolfe.

Appearing on “Good Morning Football,” Wolfe listed Hilton as one of the three most underrated cornerbacks in the NFL, citing not only his physicality but his role in helping turn around the entire Bengals program.

While doing so, Wolfe also tossed some proverbial salt in the wound to other fanbases in the AFC North by pointing out that Hilton helped after parting ways with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I’ve been in the locker room,” Wolfe said. “He talked about being a Pittsburgh Steeler and looking at the Cincinnati Bengals as maybe the little brother. Then he goes over to the [Bengals] and helps make them big brother.”

The Bengals were on the trajectory of changing the program in a way that would shift the entire division, but Hilton is certainly one of the best examples of that idea in action.

Not only is Hilton 3-1 against the Steelers already, he’s surpassed mere divisional rivalries by proving he’s one of the better slot corners in the league.

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