Second-year rusher Giovani Bernard has missed the last three games with hip and shoulder injuries for the Cincinnati Bengals. Bernard is expected to return this Sunday against the Houston Texans but it may not be as the starter.
Rookie Jeremy Hill racked up 361 yards and two touchdowns on a 5.3 yards per carry average in Bernard's absence. Hill's emergence merits the questions of who will receive the bulk of the carries in Cincinnati's backfield.
"I think Jeremy has done a tremendous job and he earns the right to play, there's no question about that," offensive coordinator Hue Jackson told Bengals.com. "But it's always good to have two really good runners. What I see now is a situation where we have two really fine runners and whoever starts the game, I don't think that will matter. I don't think either one of them feels that way. I think everybody wants to play, but who walks out there first, I don't think that will really matter."
Based on those comments, it's clear the Bengals backfield will operate with more of a timeshare than earlier in the season. But Bengals.com writer Geoff Hobson still believes Hill will be the lead guy this weekend.
"But Jackson also says, 'I think my concern is keeping [Bernard] healthy, whatever that means,' and that sounds like Hill is getting the bulk of the carries until Bernard's hip and shoulder click back into place," Hobson wrote.
ESPN Bengals reporter Coley Harvey also got the sense that Hill will continue to be the No. 1 option in the Cincy's backfield for now.
"It's not far-fetched to make the claim right now that Hill is the best running back the Bengals have," Harvey wrote. "That said, Bernard is the starter, and has ability in the pass-catching game that Hill and others don't. You'll see a heavy dose of Hill on Sunday. But if Bernard does play, it might not be the role Bengals fans are used to."
Hopefully, you Bernard owners out there were smart enough to handcuff him with Hill. Otherwise, it seems likely that you will be seeing decreased production from Bernard from here on out thanks to a lighter workload.
