Hilton has been a mainstay in the Bengals secondary the last four seasons.
Signing Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to contract extensions is great, and, in my opinion, it makes the offseason a success based on that alone.
However, I’m not naive to think there isn’t more work for the Cincinnati Bengals to do to improve the roster going into 2025. There definitely are more ways for the Bengals to make this offseason even more of a success.
One of those moves could be re-signing Mike Hilton. It could be that simple.
The perception has been that Hilton will likely not be on the Bengals in 2025, but there’s a world that exists where the Bengals could bring him back in free agency.
ESPN’s Matt Bowen currently has Hilton as the No. 5 free agent still available.
Bowen writes on Hilton: “A slot corner who plays with a sense of urgency, Hilton had 12 tackles for loss and eight pressures last season. He has a natural feel for playing in space as a coverage defender with the aggressive mentality to tackle and blitz on the edges. In eight seasons, Hilton has 13 interceptions, 11.5 sacks, and 34 pass breakups.”
Stats aside, Hilton has emerged as a locker-room leader in his four seasons with the Bengals. Bringing him back could be crucial in the development of the young players in the Bengals secondary like DJ Turner, Jordan Battle, D.J. Ivey and Dax Hill.
Regardless of if Hilton’s play fell off last year, veteran leadership is difficult to replace. Losing Jessie Bates III and Chidobe Awuzie in the last two offseasons was crucial in that aspect.
Veteran leadership can help defenses, in this case, transition in getting younger. It’s not just about letting older players go and moving on to younger players. Keeping older players is a good thing for veteran leadership. That could be why the Bengals bring back Hilton if they do. It would be a smart move, but will it ultimately happen?
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