CINCINNATI, Jan. 5 (UPI) — A crowded backfield could get some clearance next season for the Cincinnati Bengals.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Paul Dehner Jr., the Bengals could relegate starting running back Jeremy Hill to backup status.
“I think draft will produce quality RB option,” Dehner tweeted Thursday. “Rex will have shot at more $$ & opp elsewhere. Hill not cut, but a backup/GL speciality, IMO.”
Hill, 24, will be playing in the final year of a four-year, $3.7 million contract.
After racking up 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns during his rookie season, Hill’s production has fallen off. Although he has 21 touchdowns between the last two seasons, he has averaged just 3.7 yards per carry in that timeframe. Hill sat out the Bengals’ season finale against the Baltimore Ravens due to a knee injury.
Giovani Bernard suffered a torn ACL in the Bengals’ Week 11 contest, but has looked electrifying compared to the declining Hill.
Bengals.com writer Geoff Hobson reported that it is a “no-brainer” that the Bengals re-sign Rex Burkhead.
“As for the running back position, I think you can only conclude that Burkhead has won the job with Bernard. At the moment Hill, you’d think, is a backup,” Hobson wrote on Bengals.com.
Bernard, 25, signed a four-year, $16.6 million contract in June. He netted 673 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns on 130 touches this season. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry, but a career-high 3.9 catches per game.
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