B.J. Hill Cincinnati Bengals
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Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill left a cryptic post, possibly connecting the team to Dexter Lawrence.
There is unrest with the New York Giants, as star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II has requested a trade. Now, speculation is running rampant about whether or not that trade comes to fruition, and if it does, where he might end up.
Certainly, the Cincinnati Bengals are among the teams that would love to land a player like Lawrence, and perhaps nobody in Cincinnati knows him better than his former teammate, defensive tackle B.J. Hill. So, when Hill recently took to Twitter/X to leave a cryptic post, it got the rumor mill fired up again.
BJ Hill
All Hill ended up posting was a single emoji, telling the reader to be quiet. That was enough for plenty of folks to read into, though.
Among those to take this as a hint that Hill thinks a trade could be coming for Lawrence was Sports Illustrated. There, Landon Belote shared some thoughts on the post.
“What makes this occurrence extremely interesting this time is that it comes just after Hill’s former teammate, Giants All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, requested a trade following a contract dispute with New York,” Belote wrote.
There is Further Evidence B.J. Hill was Posting About Dexter Lawrence
Dexter Lawrence New York Giants
GettyNew York Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence
It’s easy to dismiss this kind of post. After all, B.J. Hill didn’t actually say much of anything in his post. However, he did leave another hint that he was directly referencing Dexter Lawrence.
An account called “Vontaze Burner” posted a quote of Hill’s original post. In it, the account used a picture of Hill and Lawrence when they were teammates with the Giants. It was captioned “Reunited!?” Apparently, Hill noticed the post, and liked it. The Vontaze Burner account worked to prove it, replying to the post with a screenshot showing that Hill liked it.
Vontaze Burner
Likes are no longer public on Twitter/X. So, this type of screenshot is the only way to prove if someone liked a post, even if they later go back and unlike it.
More importantly for Bengals’ fans, it pretty directly connects Hill’s original post to Lawrence. Now the question is more about whether or not that is a kind of wish fulfillment for Hill or if he has some inside information.
Dexter Lawrence Plays a Major Position of Need for Cincinnati
Dexter Lawrence New York Giants
GettyNew York Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence
One thing isn’t up for debate, and that’s that Cincinnati needs help along the defensive line. Even with the chance for improvement among the team’s young players, there is room to get better and improve. Writing for The Athletic, Paul Dehner Jr. recently touched on this as it relates to the team’s plans in the NFL Draft.
“Say what you will about the need for more pass rush — and Cincinnati needs much more of it — the Bengals have three edge rushers they have invested significant capital in and plan on supporting in Boye Mafe, Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart. Each is under contract for at least two more years,” Dehner wrote.
“Those three are going nowhere. They aren’t being demoted or deprioritized. They are the answers at edge. Another player can, and likely will, be added to the mix, but in terms of priority, that doesn’t surpass the needs lacking at corner.”
While Dehner was writing about the NFL Draft, he was really addressing the team’s needs. If the Bengals can address one of those outside of the draft, then they can focus on other needs when the draft does roll around.
What isn’t up for debate is that Dexter Lawrence would fill that major need for the Bengals along the defensive line. The two-time All-Pro selection is coming off a season in 2025 where he played in 17 games and had 31 total tackles, including 4 tackles for a loss and 0.5 sacks. He also managed to snag an interception.