Bengals' first big signing of free agency begins to challenge their messaging from earlier in the offseason
The first move the Cincinnati Bengals have made in the legal negotiation window brings defensive tackle B.J. Hill back to the defense.As first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, Hill is set to sign a three-year, $33 million deal featuring $16 million guaranteed. Hill has been in Cincinnati since 2021 when the team traded for him right […]
The first move the Cincinnati Bengals have made in the legal negotiation window brings defensive tackle B.J. Hill back to the defense.
As first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, Hill is set to sign a three-year, $33 million deal featuring $16 million guaranteed.
Hill has been in Cincinnati since 2021 when the team traded for him right before the regular season that year. He finished out his rookie contract that season and posted a career-high 5.5 sacks, which helped him earn a three-year, $30 million deal from the Bengals in 2022.
That was back when he was about to turn 27 years old. He's since been about the same caliber of player for Cincinnati despite the defense's downturn starting in 2023. Now he's about to hit 30 in April and just agreed to a deal that's likely going to keep him around for the next two years at minimum.
For a team that was hesitant to pay a 30-year old Trey Hendrickson what he wanted, this is an interesting development.
Bengals retain experience when there's value to it
When the Bengals fired defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and replaced him with Al Golden, it established a shift in what the unit was going to look like. So much of the team's issues with Anarumo revolved around his unwillingness to play the younger names at his disposal. Golden's value will be determined by how much he develops and utilizes the defense's overlooked and inexperienced players.
Hill will now stay on and is most likely going to be the oldest starter on the team if Hendrickson is in fact traded. A total youth movement is in fact not coming to the defensive tackle group if Hill's deal is in fact the only major signing they make there.
You do need experience and leadership, which is why Hill is back on a relatively smaller deal compared to what the salary cap looked like back in 2022. The Bengals don't want to pay significantly more for Hendrickson at his older age, but they'll take a value deal for Hill.
The signing makes sense from that perspective, but there's another angle that deserves questioning.
More moves are needed so Cincinnati isn't just running it back with a similar team
One of the messages director of player personnel Duke Tobin relayed at the NFL Scouting Combine was that he doesn't want the roster to be similar but more expensive. So far, the two major moves they've made are the three-year extensions for Mike Gesicki and Hill, whom both got pay raises.
"And hopefully, you know, we don't want to just re-sign these guys and pay more for the same football team we had last year. We want to add to it as well," Tobin said back in February. "So we want to re-sign these guys, reward them for their ability level, and add to the football team."
Again, Hill—and Gesicki for that matter—are solid players that don't make the Bengals worse at their respective positions. These are not bad moves in a vacuum by any means, especially since Hill's deal will look cheap relative to what other DTs are reeling in this month.
There's simply much more work to be done so the Bengals actually make progress with their roster.
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