The Cincinnati Bengals continue to search for answers in the defensive secondary as the overall unit holds back an elite season from Joe Burrow.
Many of the problems have occurred in the secondary. Cam Taylor-Britt has been shockingly erratic, younger players like Jordan Battle couldn’t get on the field and injuries to names like Dax Hill have hurt rotations.
Now, fifth-round rookie Josh Newton could be headed for more playing time as the Bengals simply seek a spark from anyone at this point.
“Josh has been a hard worker,” head coach Zac Taylor said, accoridng to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “I like his energy. I like his approach as a young player, so we’ll just continue to work with him and see how it plays out.”
Newton was a hyped mid-round pick for the way bits of his game echoed the likes of Mike Hilton — the veteran who moved to safety semi-often in packages last season, but hasn’t done so this year.
Upping Newton’s snaps, seeing the unit improve and unearthing a key piece of the defense for years to come would be the best-case scenario in getting Newton more snaps. He certainly has the upside to make that happen.
But the Bengals would settle for merely improving a unit that can’t really bottom out further. Learning on the fly and hoping somebody like CTB can turn it around is all they really have left at this point.
