Vonn Bell Mentors Dax Hill

With Joe Burrow getting out of the hospital Wednesday after his appendectomy, rookie free safety Dax Hill took center stage at the Bengals first practice of training camp on the Paul Brown Stadium practice fields.

There is no timetable for when either Burrow or free safety Jessie Bates III get on the practice field. So as the Bengals wait on Bates, they’ve turned to the first-rounder from Michigan to take his snaps and safeties coach Robert Livingston saw what he wanted after the first workout.

“Communication,” Livingston said. “The only different piece defensively, so go out there and communicate and make calls and don’t freeze. If we don’t do that, we can grow from there.”

Hill didn’t freeze, although he did say he certainly never expected to be in the starting lineup so quickly for a Super Bowl defense. Middle linebacker Logan Wilson continues to rest his shoulder, but he had a helmet communicator on the sidelines as defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo called the plays.

So, yeah, Hill was the only face that wasn’t there in Los Angeles when Super Bowl LVI started.

“As time goes by, I’ll feel more comfortable out there,” Hill said. “But I’m beginning to adjust really well.”

After the Bengals eased into things with a couple of seven-on-seven periods and two team periods, Livingston said it was a typical first practice for a rookie. Not as good as it looked at times and not as bad as it looked at times.

But, as Paul Brown would say, he’s acting like he’s been there before. The veteran playing next to him, strong safety Vonn Bell saw it during the spring.

“He’s like a sponge right now, soaking up a lot of information,” Bell said before practice. “Coachable. He wants to get better. He’s got a natural feel for the game.”

Bell is the best thing Hill and Livingston have going for them in Bates’ absence. The man who conspired with Bates’ tip over Tyreek Hill to come up with the biggest interception in Bengals history in overtime of the AFC title game in Kansas City. Playoff hero…