NFL insider dishes on Sidney Jones IV's progress with Cincinnati Bengals

As the 2023 offeseason continues, ESPN gathered its NFL Nation reporters to get their feedback on each team’s offseason standout to watch for. For Cincinnati, defensive back Sidney Jones IV‘s progress has been quite noteworthy.

Jones had arguably the best year of his career in Seattle in 2021, but a groin injury limited him to just seven games with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.

The Bengals are hoping he can return to form, and Sidney Jones IV’s progress this offseason has been encouraging.

“Jones finished the team’s offseason workouts with a nice minicamp showing,” wrote ESPN’s Ben Baby. “Most notably, he was in position to intercept a pass intended for wideout Tee Higgins during a 7-on-7 period. It’s a great sign for a Bengals secondary that signed Jones for veteran depth behind cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie, Cam Taylor-Britt and Mike Hilton.”

During that 2021 campaign with the Seahawks, Jones played in all 16 games and recorded 66 tackles and 10 passes defended. It was by far his most statistically successful season in his six years in the NFL to date.

The former Washington cornerback took a while to get going.

He was initially a second-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2017 NFL Draft, so he was certainly viewed as a guy who could make a major impact. But an Achilles injury he suffered at his Pro Day caused his rookie season to be a bit of a grind.

Jones would appear in just one game in 2017.

As a second-year player in 2018, Jones locked up the starting nickelback job at the beginning of the season but suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for a few weeks. He would later reaggravate it, spoiling much of his 2018 campaign.

In his final year in Philadelphia in 2019, Jones appeared in 12 games and began to have a significantly bigger impact, recording his first two career interceptions.

He then spent a year in Jacksonville, beginning a journeyman-like career as he bounced from Jacksonville to Seattle to Las Vegas to Cincinnati.

But the Bengals will be hoping Sidney Jones IV’s progress this offseason can help bolster their depth in the secondary. Jones, when healthy, certainly has a lot of potential.

In six seasons, Jones has logged 154 tackles, a forced fumble, four interceptions and 30 passes defended.