It has been an offseason of firsts for the Cincinnati Bengals. Who would have thought they would trade the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft for a player like Dexter Lawrence? Restructuring Joe Burrow’s contract was just a pipe dream… until they did it.

That trend continued when Cashius Howell signed his rookie contract on Tuesday.

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Howell, the 41st overall pick, became the first second-round pick in franchise history to receive a fully guaranteed rookie contract. The Bengals typically limit guarantees beyond the first year of their contracts, but after a brief negotiation, they opted to give Howell a deal that matched those given to players drafted around him.

Now, according to OverTheCap.com, Howell is set to see every bit of the $12,008,000 included in his four-year deal, as well as receiving a signing bonus of $5,193,092 as soon as he put pen to paper.

In the 2026 draft class, all but one second-rounder have signed their rookie contracts, and the top 16 players have all received fully guaranteed contracts. Howell can now join them, and even though he has been practicing, he can focus strictly on football now that the business is handled.

This was far from the dramatic negotiation we saw between the Bengals and Shemar Stewart last offseason, but it is nice to know that the Bengals’ full draft class is under contract and focused on bringing a Lombardi Trophy to Cincinnati.