Dax Hill may have had his option exercised Wednesday for the 2026 season, but it was a day he spent exercising for about three hours to make sure he’s ready for 2025.
After about 90 minutes in a weight-room workout focused on the upper body, Hill ducked into the training room for nearly 90 more.
“These days are a little longer,” Hill said, “because after I get done with an upper body lift, I go into the treatment room and hit some more legs.”
Oh, he got the multi-million-dollar memo for next year, but guys like position coach Charles Burks are thinking only about how he’s got the legs that can help revive the Bengals’ defense under new coordinator Al Golden right now. 2026 is merely a calendar.
“Dax unleashed,” said Burks a few hours later after emerging from yet another skull session with Golden and his staff. “The ultimate chess piece. When you have a guy like Dax Hil who can do multiple things really well … he covers, he blitzes, he runs in well in space and tackles, all at a high level, you put him in position to take advantage of his skill set.”
When Hill went down in the fifth game last season with a torn ACL, he had been, rather remarkably, the Bengals’ best cornerback. It was the first time he played the position in the NFL after breaking into the league in 2022 as a first-rounder projected to play safety in the league following a career he primarily played the slot at Michigan.
He hardly played as a rookie, and when he started and played more than 1,000 snaps at his new position the next year, sometimes the transition wasn’t as smooth.
“As a person, even better than the player. Dax is so humble, and I’m so happy to see a guy like that get rewarded,” Burks said. “I’ve watched every one of his practices since he’s been here and not once have I ever seen him point the finger. At anyone.”