Bengals CB DJ Turner II Rates Confidence Level for New Contract, Explains Why He Showed up for Voluntary Workouts

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback DJ Turner voiced optimism that he and the team can work out a long-term extension before the start of the regular season.

“Oh, yeah. I’m real hopeful,” he said after Tuesday’s OTA practice. “This is definitely where I want to be.”

Turner proved that when he arrived Monday for his first work during the voluntary portion of the offseason.

Many players in his situation, as we have seen around these parts each of the last few offseasons, would elect not to participate at all until a contract is finalized.

“There's no blueprint,” he said. “If something is more beneficial for somebody else, I'm not gonna say 'everybody should be doing what I'm doing.' We've got a lot of new faces on defense. (I wanted) to get around everybody. Just being around the team is fun."

Even though Turner just showed up Monday, he’s been in constant contact with head coach Zac Taylor.

And Turner’s first order of business upon arriving was a visit to Taylor’s office.

“DJ's been great,” Taylor said. “Responds every time I reach out to him. (He’s) been training elsewhere, so it's great to have him show up yesterday for OTAs and come in here and get the work in. A little bit like he's never left.

“He's a guy I've got a ton of respect for,” Taylor continued. “The way he handles his business, his energy level, his professionalism, the way he's trying to help his teammates, he's a big part of our locker room. So it's good to see him back.”

Taylor said Turner’s willingness to show up for voluntary work despite negotiating a contract extension says about him, and a lot about what he means to the Bengals.

“He's one of those guys that's an integral part of our team,” he said. “As many guys that you can have that helping this football team win is the most important thing, is what you want a locker room full of guys on. And DJ is certainly one of those guys that fits that category.

“There's a business side of it that will be ongoing, but I love the way that he's handled it,” Taylor continued. “I love the way he's communicated it. I love the way his energy's been. I love the way he's worked. It's been great to get him back.”

Turner, the team’s second-round in 2023, and fellow cornerback Dax Hill, the 2022 first-round pick who is playing this season on the fifth-year option, are both looking for extensions.

Re-signing both of them could be a challenge for the Bengals after trading for Dexter Lawrence and giving him in an extension in addition to inking safety Bryan Cook and defensive end Boye Mafe to big free agent deals this offseason, not to mention the massive Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins extensions in 2025 and the ever-growing cap hit for quarterback Joe Burrow.

Turner developed into an elite corner last season. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 4 outside cornerback in coverage behind Carolina’s Mike Jackson, Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon and Philadelphia’s Quinyon Mitchell.

Opponents targeted Turner 62 times last season, completing only 29 passes for

In an attempt to take his game to next level, Turner said he took a nine-day, solo trip to visit five cities in India this offseason to learn about meditation.

“I really tapped into the mental aspect of stuff,” Turner said. “I was just wanting to learn. Everybody knows Ibis meditation has helped me a lot, so I wanted to go out there and learn about it. How did it start? The history of it. All that. Every question I had, I was with a tour guide the whole time. I still talk to him. It was real big for sure."

Turner said he was not inspired by Spurs center Victory Wembanyama’s 10-day spiritual retreat with the Shaolin warrior monks after his rookie season. In fact, Turner didn’t even know about it until he returned and started telling people about his trip.

The response was usually, ‘Oh, like Wemby did.’

“He went to China with the Shaolin kung-fu monks,” Turner said. “I went to India, which is where it all started. But I want to go there, too, for sure.”

But first, football season and hopefully a new contract.

Turner said he might meditate on it, but that’s as far as his involvement will go.

“I'm just gonna leave the contract talk to in-house and my agent,” he said. “I'm just here to work. That's what I'm focused on right now.”

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