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          Cincinnati Bengals agree to deals with CBs Chidobe Awuzie, Mike Hilton, sources say

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterMar 16, 2021, 03:58 PM
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          The Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday agreed to deals with cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton.

          Awuzie agreed to a three-year contract worth $21.75 million, with $7.5M guaranteed, a source told ESPN's Dan Graziano. Hilton told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that he was joining the Bengals. A source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Hilton will sign a four-year contract.

          Awuzie gives Cincinnati an outside cornerback to pair with Trae Waynes, who signed with Cincinnati in 2020 but missed the entire season after he suffered a pectoral injury during training camp. William Jackson, Cincinnati's top cornerback last season, is a free agent after a strong 2020 campaign.

          Hilton, a slot cornerback, will replace Mackensie Alexander, who is a free agent.

          Playing in a contract year, Awuzie's season with the Dallas Cowboys did not go as planned in 2020. He missed seven games with a hamstring strain suffered in Week 2 and missed one game while on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

          In eight games (six starts), he had 38 tackles, a fumble recovery, an interception and five passes defended.

          A second-round pick in 2017, Awuzie, 25, started 42 games in his four seasons with the Cowboys and recorded one interception in each of his four seasons.

          Hilton, who turned 27 in March, started six games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020, but was an important piece of sub-packages. He had a career-high three interceptions and matched a high with two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

          A gritty, tough player, Hilton was key in defending the run and developed a knack for blitzing. He had three sacks in 2020 and finishes his Steelers career with 9.5. He also had eight tackles for loss in a season shortened by a shoulder injury sustained in the middle of the regular season.

          A Mississippi product, Hilton joined the Steelers in 2017 after being an undrafted free agent the year before. He quickly became the team's go-to slot corner and saw action in all 16 games in 2017.

          Hilton finishes his Steelers career with 186 solo tackles, 30 tackles for loss and seven interceptions. He signed a one-year restricted free agent tender with the Steelers following the 2019 season and played his way into a bigger paycheck on the open market.

          Awuzie's deal was first reported by NFL Network.

          ESPN's Todd Archer and Brooke Pryor contributed to this report.