The trash talk between Justice Hill and Dax Hill is already in full swing.
Free agency has been good to the Hill brothers and their sibling rivalry will continue whenever the Ravens play the Bengals next season. Justice re-signed with the Ravens last week, as the team kept its speedy running back and a top special teams player in the fold.
Meanwhile, Dax is expected to be a starting safety for Cincinnati after the Bengals lost veteran safeties Jessie Bates (Falcons) and Vonn Bell (Panthers) in free agency. Dax was a rookie last season and Justice can't wait to face his brother more often in the future.
"I guess we're going to see him a lot," Justice said on "The Lounge" podcast.
"I'm in his head. Now he's on defense a lot more? I'm going to be in his head even more."
Until last year, the Hill brothers from Tulsa, Okla., had never faced each other in organized football. Their first matchup was supposed to happen Week 5 last season, but Justice missed that game against the Bengals due to injury.
Finally, the Hill brothers faced each other in back-to-back games – Week 17 in Cincinnati, and the following week in the playoffs.
The Bengals won both games, but Justice says he got the best of Dax. Justice was a gunner on special teams, while Dax was lined up against his brother as a blocker. In Week 17, Justice eluded his brother's attempted block and ran down the field to make a tackle on a punt return.
It's a moment that Justice won't let his brother forget.
"He might have gotten a shoestring on me," Justice said. "I ran right by him."
Justice returned faster than ever last season, bouncing back from a torn Achilles that cost him the 2021 season. He believes the Ravens can have the NFL's deepest running back rotation in 2023 with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards also a year removed from their torn ACL's.
"When you go through those challenges, it really makes you stronger," Hill said. "Our whole group has been through massive challenges. As a unit, all three of us our super strong – mentally, physically. That's only going to catapult is to be one of the best position groups in the entire league."
Justice is extremely proud of his brother, Cincinnati's first-round pick in 2022 who is expected to blossom as a starter. The AFC North is big enough for their sibling rivalry and Justice looks forward to it.
"My entire life I hadn't played against him," Justice said. "We'll have a lot more battles to go."
