Jeremy Hill left last week's preseason game with a shoulder injury. This week the Cincinnati Bengals running back could be shouldering some of the first-team responsibilities in the third preseason game Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
"He's worthy of playing with those guys," offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said of Hill playing with the starters, per The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Hill has taken snaps behind starter Giovani Bernard and veteran BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Hill had nine carries for 52 yards in two games before leaving with the shoulder injury against the New York Jets -- a 25-17 loss.
"I think it definitely would be good," Hill said of working with the starters. "I've just been working with what opportunities the coaches have been giving me. If it is with the ones it would be great, but I'm just going to continue doing what I'm doing."
Jackson said he didn't realize Hill had solely been working with the backups in the first two preseason games and isn't that worried about who he's running behind.
"As long as he's doing what he needs to do I'm fine," Jackson said. "I think that's a little overrated (that he has to get reps with the first team to be in sync) -- runners run."
Jackson said Thursday he is unsure whether Green-Ellis will play Sunday. The running back has missed practice with a hip injury.
We expect a healthy Hill to replace Green-Ellis as the "thunder" to Bernard's "lightning." With a solid outing Sunday, the second-round pick could cement that spot.
Although, given that Jackson hadn't realized his own running back rotation, perhaps the game reps won't matter much in that battle.
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