Bengals Football
Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle makes a catch during the team’s practice in Cincinnati June 9. Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press Carolyn Kaster - AP
CINCINNATI — Jordan Battle said he already can feel the impact of the Cincinnati Bengals’ new additions on defense through the offseason workout program.
The 2023 third-round draft pick is hopeful that improvements on the defensive line in front of him and at safety beside him will pay big dividends not only for the unit, but for his own individual play as well.
Battle is in the last year of his rookie contract and struggled with consistency in his first full season as a starter last year. That’s where help from new free safety Bryan Cook and defensive linemen like Boye Mafe and Dexter Lawrence can make a difference.
“It’s been a great spring, getting new guys integrated and learning each other’s tendencies,” Battle said. “Obviously, (we’ve)got a few guys who have been in winning cultures: Boye Mafe, B-Cook. Dex (Lawrence) is going to take up a lot of attention, so that will help us in the back end. For me, I can already see a difference those guys are going to make. It makes my job easier.”
Battle is playing next to a new free safety for the third time in four years, as the Bengals have struggled to find an effective player at that position since Jessie Bates’ departure after the 2022 season.
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When Battle was a rookie and ended up starting the final seven games over Nick Scott, he had Dax Hill trying to figure things out next to him, in Hill’s first year as a starter. Hill moved to cornerback the next year, and Cincinnati brought in Geno Stone for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but that didn’t pan out either.
Cook, a Cincinnati native and former UC Bearcats defensive back, signed in free agency this offseason and brings a lot of strengths that were weaknesses for his predecessors. He won two Super Bowls with Kansas City and was one of the best-tackling safeties in the league the last two seasons.
“B-Cook has been awesome,” Battle said. “We’re already communicating well, and when you have someone next to you that’s playing at a high level, it brings your play up a notch, too.”
While Cook can help stabilize the safety tandem, he said Battle has helped him as well. Cook said Battle welcomed him “with open arms,” and has helped make his own transition to the Bengals’ defense go smoothly.
Cook remembers playing Battle and his Alabama football team during Cook’s senior year at Cincinnati, when their teams met at the 2021 Cotton Bowl, but he’s enjoyed getting to know him now as a teammate.
Bengals Football
Cincinnati Bengals Bryan Cook catches a pass during the team’s practice in Cincinnati June 9. Carolyn
Kaster / Associated Press Carolyn Kaster - AP
“We help each other, bouncing questions off each other and learning,” Cook said. “I know he’s been here for a few years in the system, so I can ask questions to him and pick his brain about certain things and then also to find out what he likes as far as certain alignments, as far as certain packages, things like that and make sure that he’s getting the best foot forward for himself as well. At the end of the day, I want to make sure that I’m being everything I can be for the team, but I want to see other guys excel, too, so whatever he needs, I’ll adjust it for him. I want to see him ... flourish. I know it’s a big year for him. But it’s definitely a great opportunity for me to just see him shine the way I think he can.”
This is a big year for Battle in terms of earning his next contract, but Battle said it’s a big year for the defense as a whole.
Cincinnati has something to prove after three years of struggling on defense and missing the playoffs. The groundwork is being laid this offseason with everyone back in the building for Phase 3 of the workout program, well before this week’s mandatory minicamp, and Battle said the defense wants to show how different this year can be.
A drama-free offseason with no holdouts during OTAs helps.
“We want to go out and kill, not even allow our opponents to be close, dominate,” Battle said. “The more we can get the ball in Joe Burrow’s hands, the better we will be, so we plan to just go out and kill, dominate our opponents and let the offense get to work.”