Report: Bengals defensive back likely out for season

Turner was injured at the end of the third quarter of Sunday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, while defending a deep ball from Justin Herbert intended for Quinton Johnston on a play that might have enabled the hosts to regain a 14-point lead. Two plays later, Herbert lost a fumble that set up the game-tying touchdown drive for the Bengals’ offense in a comeback from a 21-point deficit.

Just like Hill was starting to come into his own as a first-year starter at the cornerback position, Turner was doing the same in his second season. He also started 12 games last year as a rookie but struggled at the end of the season and lost the competition against Hill for the No. 2 cornerback spot, opposite Cam Taylor-Britt.

This year has been a rough one for Taylor-Britt, who appeared headed toward potential Pro Bowl consideration in 2023 before an injury sidelined him four weeks in the second half of the season. Turner was thrust into a starting job when Hill went down in the Week 5 loss to Baltimore, but he had begun rotating in after seeing limited playing time the first three games, and in recent weeks he was proving himself as the more consistent option among the remaining corners.

Turner played in all 11 games to this point, with six starts, and Pro Football Focus had him at a 67.8 defensive grade – up from a 51.5 in 2023. On Sunday, he posted a PFF defensive grade of 76.2 after allowing just three receptions on six targets. He played 46 of the team’s 67 snaps on defense Sunday.

Cincinnati now will be leaning on rookie Josh Newton and Taylor-Britt going forward, but the team will need to explore outside options again. Former Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard participated in a workout last week but declined an offer, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Perhaps the parties will explore a re-negotiation.

Newton, a fifth-round draft pick out of TCU, has played just 16 percent of Cincinnati’s defensive snaps this season.