We’re eight days away from the Cincinnati Bengals’ preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. We won’t see the starters after today’s joint practice against the Chicago Bears, but there are still several to go before every member of the Bengals’ 90-man roster gets a profile page. Check out previous player profiles here.

The next name on the list belongs to the longest tenured defensive lineman on the team.

B.J. Hill Player Profile

Age: 31
Year: 9th
Position: Defensive tackle
College: NC State
Jersey Number: 92

B.J. Hill was originally selected No. 69 overall in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Prior to the NFL, Hill played four years (2014-17) at North Carolina State, starting 44 of the 51 games he played in for the Wolfpack.

Hill’s time with the Giants started as a starter, but he slowly became phased out of snaps during his second and third years. He was traded to Cincinnati right before the 2021 season in exchange for Billy Price, the Bengals’ first-round pick from the 2018 draft. Hill was immediately inserted in the DT rotation alongside DJ Reader and Larry Ogunjobi. His fit was seamless, and Cincinnati re-signed him to a three-year deal in 2022, making him a full-time starter as Ogunjobi left for another team.

The Bengals enjoyed having Hill start for the next three years so much they re-upped for another three last offseason. As he’s gotten older, the need to rotate him off the field has become a more pressing concern. That is the hope for 2026 as he’s part of a group reminiscent of the one he first walked in to five years ago.

Contract details

Hill is entering the second year of his three-year, $33 million contract. His base salary is $6,000,000 this season, and he can earn up to $350,000 in per game roster bonuses throughout the year. He’s already earned a $2,000,000 roster, and a $100,000 workout bonus. He’s scheduled to make $8,450,000 in cash this year. When adding on his signing bonus proration of $3,666,666, his salary cap hit for the season comes out to $12,116,666.

Roster outlook

You could argue Hill is the offseason’s biggest winner out of every incumbent starter on defense. He watched Cincy add Jonathan Allen and his former Giants teammate Dexter Lawrence to play next to him this season, and T.J. Slaton Jr. is still around as well. Hill was actually instrumental in recruiting Lawrence during early trade talks. There hasn’t been this much DT talent to complement Hill since 2021 when Reader and Ogunjobi were flanking him and allowing him to take breathers more often.

The Bengals envision Hill playing fewer snaps than the 771 average snaps per year he’s posted since joining the club. He’s only recently returned to practice after recovering from an offseason procedure for his foot, so he’s quite fresh entering the year. Cincinnati hopes he stays fresh for a possible playoff run.

Roster odds: 100%