New York Giants head coach Joe Judge announced on Monday the team is trading defensive lineman B.J. Hill; one reason why Hill was held out of Sunday night’s game versus New England.
The trade is reportedly to the Cincinnati Bengals for center Billy Price, a 2018 first-round pick out of Ohio State.
Trade: The #Giants are trading BJ Hill to the #Bengals and receiving former first-rounder Billy Price.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2021
The trade, pending physicals, does several things for the Giants. First, it opens up a roster spot for defensive lineman Raymond Johnson (as per Judge), who has impressed this summer at camp and in the preseason.
The second leg of why this is a good trade for Big Blue is it gives them a natural center in Price. That will potentially shift Nick Gates Gates back to his role as a guard/swing tackle where he has proved to be effective.
If Gates stays at center, Price also has experience at guard.
Price, 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, won the Rimington Trophy in 2017 as the nation’s top center. He was selected 21st overall by the Bengals in the 2018 NFL draft and has played in 42 games for Cincinnati but has mostly been a rotational player suffering through a spate of injuries.
Pro Football Focus graded Price as their 47th ranked center in the NFL last year. This spring, the Bengals declined to exercise his fifth-year option.
Hill was a former third-round pick of the Giants in 2018. He is in the final year of his rookie contract.
