Update (3:03 PM): Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed S Dax Hill is out for the year with a torn ACL.
Our original story is below.
The Cincinnati Bengals will likely be without starting safety Dax Hill for the rest of the 2024 season due to a feared torn ACL suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Assuming that comes true, that obviously means he won’t play in either of the games against the Pittsburgh Steelers later this year. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared the news Monday morning after Hill went down with a non-contact injury yesterday.
Hill has started all five games this year and the last 22 for the Bengals. The team’s first-round pick in 2022, he was taken as Jessie Bates III’s successor after Bates left in free agency ahead of the 2023 season. Athletic and versatile, Dax Hill’s season will end the season with 25 tackles, one sack, and two pass breakups. In 17 games last season, he notched 110 tackles with 1.5 sacks, two picks, and 11 pass breakups.
It’s a major loss for a Bengals defense that’s struggled to keep points off the board this season. The team was already without NCB and former Steeler Mike Hilton, who missed yesterday’s game with a knee injury. He failed to practice throughout the week, leaving his timetable to return uncertain.
Through five games, the Bengals’ defense is 31st in scoring, allowing 29 points per game. Only the Carolina Panthers are worse. Cincinnati fell to 1-4 after a 41-38 overtime shootout loss to Baltimore, blowing a 38-28 fourth quarter lead. It’s the Bengals’ worst start to a season since 2019 when they began the year 0-11, leading them to draft Joe Burrow in 2020.
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati won’t meet for the first time until Week 13 when the Bengals will make the trip to Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers will hit the road for their season finale in Cincinnati.
Currently, the Ravens lead the AFC North, the Steelers dropping to second place for the first time this season after last night’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Bengals and Cleveland Browns are tied for last place at 1-4.
