The Bengals got a promising update on B.J. Hill on Monday, and it came at just the right time with Week 1 creeping closer.
For the first time this training camp, the veteran defensive tackle took part in 11-on-11 work. Hill was on the field with T.J. Slaton and the second-team defense as Cincinnati continued easing him back in after a lower-body injury slowed his summer.
“To be honest, I am truly blessed to be back out there,” Hill said after practice. “What I've been through the last couple of months, it wasn't an easy road.
A lot of frustration, a lot of ups and downs, but I don't take it for granted. It was really awesome just being back out there.”
That step matters because Hill began camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. The Bengals cleared him to practice on Aug. 15, and Monday marked another checkpoint in the process of getting one of their most seasoned defensive linemen ready for the regular season.
His return to full-team work came more than a week after his first practice of camp, and Cincinnati has kept the ramp-up slow and deliberate. Hill said earlier this month that the toughest part was being sidelined while everyone else kept grinding.
“The hardest part was watching my guys out there grinding when I'm not out there,” Hill said earlier this month. “That's really the hard part.
So I've been doing everything possible to try to get back. It just takes time.”
The fact that he was working with the second unit doesn’t automatically signal a change in his standing. The Bengals are simply building him back up after he missed most of camp, and full-team periods are another box he needs to check before he’s back to his normal load.
Hill has been one of Cincinnati’s most dependable defenders. Last season, he started all 17 games and posted 66 tackles, five tackles for loss, and four sacks. He was also voted a team captain.
Since arriving in a trade with the New York Giants ahead of the 2021 season, Hill has been a fixture on the Bengals’ defense. He became a full-time starter after Cincinnati’s Super Bowl run and signed a three-year, $33 million deal to stay with the team in the 2025 offseason.
Now, with the opener 20 days away, Hill says he’s in a better place after a stretch that tested his patience.
“Just not being where I wanted to be health-wise,” Hill said of the frustrations. “I feel like some days I felt really good.
Some days, the next day, I might not feel as good. It's kind of frustrating, and also not being out there with my guys.
When you're a leader on this team, you want to be out there fighting with your guys, putting in the hard work and the time with those guys.”
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