Totaling at just four, the Pittsburgh Steelers surely have among the fewest captains this year in the entire NFL. QB Kenny Pickett is the sole representative for the offense as is S Miles Killebrew for special teams. The defensive unit will once again be co-captained by Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt.
While the Baltimore Ravens do not appoint season-long captains, the titles varying week by week, the Cleveland Browns named five players as captains, including QB Deshaun Watson and DE Myles Garrett. The Cincinnati Bengals’ six captains—three on offense and three on defense—include a familiar name.
Former Steelers CB Mike Hilton was named a captain for the first time in his career, his third year in Cincinnati and seventh in the NFL after spending four in Pittsburgh. He signed with the Bengals as an unrestricted free agent in 2021.
Hilton is the only new name on the Bengals’ list of captains, the other five having also served in that role last year. Those are QB Joe Burrow, OL Ted Karras, and RB Joe Mixon on offense, with DE Sam Hubbard and DT D.J. Reader joining Hilton on defense.
Now 29 years old, Hilton is recognized as one of the best nickel defenders in the NFL. Although the Bengals hardly ever have him blitzing anymore the way the Steelers always did, he has been a stout defender with 126 tackles over the past two seasons, including 12 for loss. He also has three interceptions, one returned for a touchdown—against former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger—and a forced fumble.
Hilton has not been entirely without a chip on his shoulder regarding his former employer. Bengals WR Tyler Boyd told reporters that the cornerback “didn’t feel valued” by the Steelers. While he conceded in his rambling about Hilton’s address to them that he wasn’t using his exact words, he added that “we understood the message that was pretty much how it is”.
Hitting free agency in 2021 was tough for Hilton and the Steelers. The salary cap had shrunk due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which made it very hard for them to re-sign anybody. They ultimately chose to retain CB Cameron Sutton as a full-time starter and felt they could not match what the Bengals were willing to pay him.
When Hilton intercepted Roethlisberger, he described it as “the best feeling in the world” to record his first touchdown against his former team. “To do it against those guys in a big division game, it couldn’t be any sweeter”.
His play has also helped to keep the Steelers down over the past two seasons. The Bengals are 3-1 against Pittsburgh since Hilton switched sides, though they split the season series in 2022 thanks largely due to a blocked extra point attempt by Minkah Fitzpatrick, his former teammate—and on that topic, he also said that Jessie Bates III was the best safety in the league, in case you forgot.
