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Riq Woolen Trade Would Let Bengals Slide Dax Hill to Slot as DJ Turner Injury Thins Secondary
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- Riq Woolen Trade Would Let Bengals Slide Dax Hill to Slot as DJ Turner Injury Thins Secondary
Joe Burrow has the Cincinnati Bengals at 5-2 and on their way to Madrid, but the defense keeps giving back what the offense builds. After Tennessee put up 440 yards in a 43-36 overtime win, Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen has emerged as a realistic way to fix the secondary.
CBS Sports' JP Acosta made Woolen the Bengals' realistic target in his deadline scenarios for every contender , with Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley as the pipe dream. Acosta called Woolen "a little volatile" but said he would give Cincinnati "the ability to move Hill back inside to the slot."
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How Riq Woolen changes the Bengals' secondary
Sep 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dax Hill (23) breaks up a pass intended for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson (14) during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium.Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The injury is what makes the idea urgent. Starting boundary cornerback DJ Turner II left the Titans game in the fourth quarter with a heel injury , and Zac Taylor called him day-to-day. Even if Turner plays Sunday, Cincinnati has been stretching Dax Hill across the field, and Acosta pointed out that nickel is where Hill is at his best.
Woolen would give the Bengals a long outside corner and let Hill move back inside. He has also played more snaps than any cornerback in the league this season, 550 of them, according to PFF .
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The volatility shows up in the grades. Woolen has a 62.5 overall grade that ranks 50th among 102 qualified cornerbacks, with no interceptions, three pass breakups and a 116.1 passer rating allowed. Acosta's case is that he could get back to form in a defense that lets him play the vertical plane exclusively.
The price should be reasonable. Woolen signed a one-year deal in Philadelphia with a $6 million base salary, per Over the Cap , and a prorated share of that fits inside Cincinnati's $7.48 million in cap space, the number that shaped our ranking of realistic Bengals trades . The 2-6 Eagles have started to think about retooling , and re-signing Woolen looks unlikely with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean due for extensions.
The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. wrote after the Titans game that Cincinnati should be shopping only for back-seven help, and beat writers have urged the Bengals not to sit out the deadline. A cornerback on an expiring deal answers both without costing the future.
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This story was originally published by Athlon on Nov 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
