Jeremy Hill Injury: Updates on Bengals Star's Arm and Return

Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill is dealing with an injured shoulder suffered in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins. His official playing status for Week 6 against the New England Patriots has yet to be announced.

Continue for updates. 

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Latest on Hill's Practice Status

Thursday, Oct. 13

Hill practiced in full on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.

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Latest on Hill's Playing Status 

Wednesday, Oct. 12 

Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com cited a source when reporting that Hill is expected to play on Sunday.

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Hill Spotted with Arm in Sling

Wednesday, Oct. 12

Per Elise Jesse of WLWT NBC 5 in Cincinnati, Hill has his left arm in a sling. He originally injured his chest and shoulder in Week 4 against the Dolphins, though he was able to play sparingly last week against the Dallas Cowboys. 

The Bengals did start Giovani Bernard in Week 5 and limited Hill to just four carries in the Dallas game. 

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Lewis Comments on Hill's Injury

Tuesday, Oct. 11

"It's not serious, but he did land on a sore spot," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said, per Terrell. "He'll be ready to go on Wednesday."

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Hill's Potential Absence Mitigated by Presence of Bernard

Hill was a breakout star during his rookie season, finishing tied for fifth in the NFL with 5.1 yards per carry and eighth with 1,124 yards. All of that was despite starting just eight games, though his follow-up in 2015 was a huge disappointment with 794 yards and 3.6 yards per carry.

Bernard emerged as the best running back in Cincinnati last season, but Hill found a niche role as the team's goal-line running back. The second-year star tied for the NFL lead with 11 rushing touchdowns. 

Bernard, who was a second-round pick the year before Hill was drafted, is a more versatile player out of the backfield with at least 43 catches in each of his first three seasons. 

With Bernard's ascension, Hill's potential absence won't have the profound impact on the offense it once would have. However, the Bengals found a running back tandem that worked well for them last year. Veteran Cedric Peerman is no stranger to Lewis' system, but he only carried the ball 64 times in seven seasons coming into 2016. 

Even though Hill doesn't look like the dynamic runner he was as a rookie, his power makes him dangerous to break a big run in any situation. The Bengals need their running game to take pressure off quarterback Andy Dalton and open up the offense if they want to repeat as AFC North champions.