Dax Hill is coming off a season marred by an ACL tear, but the Bengals are still high on the former first-round pick. Rather than shift the converted safety into a contract year, the team is extending his rookie contract through 2026.

The rehabbing cornerback will see his fifth-year option exercised, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reports. This is an interesting decision, but Hill had won a starting CB job in Cincinnati after being moved from safety last year.

Hill’s option cost likely is motivating a Bengals team, one that changed defensive coordinators earlier this year, to stick with the 2022 first-round pick. Although Hill spent more time at safety than corner during his fifth-year option, Fowler notes his option price is expected to land on the fourth tier at corner. That would call for a $12.68M guarantee. Were Hill to be classified as a safety, the number would settle at an even more manageable $9.27M.

Still, this is an interesting decision due to Hill having suffered an ACL tear in Week 5 of last season. The Bengals had moved him from safety to corner before OTAs last year, sliding him closer to the line of scrimmage after Chidobe Awuzie‘s free agency defection. Hill, 24, beat out former Michigan teammate DJ Turner for a starting job opposite Cam Taylor-Britt. Cincinnati’s Tuesday decision provides some momentum for Hill as he completes rehab from a major injury.

Hill had played well at corner after the switch. Pro Football Focus graded the 6-foot defender in the top quartile at the position last season, though he did not log enough snaps to qualify as a 2024 regular. This, however, differs from how the advanced metrics site assessed his play at safety. PFF graded Hill 90th out of 95 qualified safeties in 2023, as the Bengals struggled to replace Jessie Bates.

Hill only has one full season as a starter under his belt, having played behind Bates and Vonn Bell as a rookie. Hill’s 2024 injury served as part of the Cincy defense’s undoing last year, but Al Golden appears to still view him as a building block ahead of his first year as DC.

As the team prepares to reintegrate Hill into its starting lineup, Turner and Taylor-Britt remain on their rookie deals. Neither is eligible for a fifth-year option due to both having been second-round picks. One season remains on Taylor-Britt’s deal, two on Turner’s. Despite Lou Anarumo‘s defense unraveling — to deny the team a playoff berth and Joe Burrow a potential MVP award — last season, no major CB investments have come this offseason. That points to considerable faith in Hill, and Tuesday’s option decision illustrated that.