As training camp nears for the Cincinnati Bengals, we're going to take a look at the most intriguing positional battles all over the roster. Whether they're at the top or near the bottom of the depth chart, jobs will be on the line starting this month.

Like most positions on the roster, the Bengals are comfortable with their starting center. Ted Karras is as solid as they come at the position, but will there be a switch up underneath him on the depth chart?

Cincinnati has kept the same second-string center for the past two seasons despite switching out Trey Hopkins for Karras in 2022. With a player returning from injury this Summer, an unexpected battle could spawn at one of the most important backup spots on the team.

Bengals Backup C Competitors 

Trey Hill

Development for late-round offensive linemen is never a guarantee. Hill lasted all the way until the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft as a young prospect in need of fine tuning. This was evident when he got his feet wet as a rookie. In 210 snaps, he was charged with six penalties, including four in two of the games he started.

Still just 23 years old, Hill isn't advancing himself out of backup status anytime soon with Ted Karras under contract through 2024. The Bengals' decision on him depends entirely on if they believe there's been enough growth in two years, and if there's more than can be achieved. 

Ben Brown

Hill likely would've had this competition last year had Brown not gotten injured. The undrafted free agent signing out of Ole Miss suffered a season-ending biceps injury in the team's preseason opener last August.

Brown's return comes just in time as he's the only real threat to Hill's job, which shouldn't have much security in the first place. Experience is not much of a separating factor between the two, but Brown having just 34 preseason snaps to his name keeps him behind Hill for now.

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Realistically, the Bengals' offense would have to noticeably adapt if Hill or Brown ended up playing real snaps this season. They each carry inexperience paired with different physical strengths, and the choice to keep one or the other might come down to preference.

Should they both make it through the entire preseason healthy, they'll each post enough tape for one to separate from the other. 

Bengals: Ted Karras’ o-line optimism is well earned

He’s at the center of progress, after all.

Featured image via © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK