Skip to content

Bengals' Margus Hunt returns to Olympic-style workouts

Evan Habeeb / USA Today

When Estonian-born defensive end Margus Hunt first entered the NFL out of Southern Methodist University, he brought a lot of hype with him.

Hunt is one of the tallest players in the NFL at 6-foot-8 and was a former discus and shot put competitor. He started playing football late in life and his potential seemed to have no ceiling.

The 28-year-old hasn't lived up to the hype through his first three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, so he's going back to the old ways that saw so many believe in Hunt's potential.

"I went back this offseason to more of my Olympic style of training," Hunt told ESPN.

Hunt feels his Olympic-style training, which includes more full-body exercises than muscle-isolating activities, gives him more power and has helped him bulk up from 290 pounds to 300. He expects to lose some of that weight in the Bengals' offseason conditioning program and work his body into an ideal mix of power and agility.

"This is just something I know that works for me," said Hunt. "We got the team workout from (Bengals strength and conditioning coach) Chip (Morton) and everything, so I still utilized that, but day to day I inserted some of the stuff I knew would benefit me. It helped."

Hunt hasn't started a single game since being selected in the second round in 2013 and only has 12 tackles under his belt through three seasons, but still remains confident he can contribute in Cincinnati.

"I know I can play," he said. "Looking at the film from the preseason ... I still had what I felt was a solid time playing. And I felt good. It's just trying to stay healthy during this offseason and just capitalizing during camp."

Hunt isn't expected to have much shot as a starter out of training camp, but will get his chances to make plays rotating in for Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson next season.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox