Full details on the No. 41 pick's rookie deal
Cincinnati Bengals second round pick Cashius Howell speaks with media during the 2026 NFL Draft, Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati.
| Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Cashius Howell hasn’t played an NFL snap yet, but the rookie defensive end already has made Cincinnati Bengals history. The team’s top draft pick – selected in the second round at No. 41 overall after the Bengals dealt No. 10 to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence – signed his rookie contract Tuesday.
Howell’s four-year rookie deal is worth $12,008,000, and he’ll see every penny of it, according to OverTheCap.com That makes Howell the first second-round pick in team history to receive a fully guaranteed contract. His base salary for 2026 will be $885,000, followed by $1,430,818 in 2027, $1,976,636 in 2028 and $2,522,454 in 2028. Last year’s second-round pick, linebacker Demetrius Knight , received $7,114,208 of his $9,012,482 in guaranteed money .
The Bengals’ 2024 second rounder, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, got $5,480,322 of his $7,860,464 guaranteed . This year, 31 of the 32 second-round picks have signed, with the first the 16 selections in the second round all receiving fully guaranteed contracts. The Bengals are expecting Howell to bring his explosive athleticism to the second-wave of the revamped pass rush this season.
“We’re fired up to add Cashius Howell to our pass rush — add a lot of juice here in the second round on top of what we did with the Dexter Lawrence trade,” Potts said. “Obviously, it gives us a lot of guys up front to really fortify our defense. We like his physicality and his instincts in the run game as well.
He’s a guy we had targeted throughout the process, and we did a lot of work on him throughout this whole spring. We couldn’t be more fired up right now. ” Sign Up For Our DAILY Newsletter for More Free Coverage of the Cincinnati Bengals Delivered to You Directly For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including.
Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more! We're a one-stop shop for all things Cincinnati Bengals! Join the 65,000+ Bengals fans who subscribe to us on YouTube. Jay Morrison covers the Cincinnati Bengals for Bengals On SI.
He has been writing about the NFL for nearly three decades. Combining a passion for stats and storytelling, Jay takes readers beyond the field for a unique look at the game and the people who play it. Prior to joining Bengals on SI, Jay covered the Cincinnati Bengals beat for The Athletic, the Dayton Daily News and Pro Football Network.
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