The Bengals have signed all of their 2026 draft picks.
Defensive end Cashius Howell was the last member of the class to put pen to paper and the team announced their agreement with the second-round pick on Tuesday. Howell signed a four-year deal with the team.
The Bengals made Howell the 41st overall pick after he recorded 11.5 sacks at Texas A&M last season. Howell also had 9.5 sacks for Bowling Green during the 2023 season and he transferred to play for the Aggies for his final two years in college.
Howell was one of many defensive additions that the Bengals made this offseason and they’ll be hoping his pass rushing abilities helps fill the void that opened when Trey Hendrickson left as a free agent in March.
The Bengals have made a procedural move to gain some more cap space.
According to a joint report from ESPN and NFL Network, Cincinnati has restructured quarterback Joe Burrow’s contract.
The move will create $10 million in cap space for the club.
As noted by Paul Dehner Jr. of TheAthletic.com, the Bengals did this to help pay for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who was acquired earlier this offseason. Cincinnati thought it could do what it wanted without restructuring Burrow’s deal, but the Lawrence deal made the Bengals want to free up some breathing room.
Burrow, who turns 30 in December, is currently under contract with the Bengals through 2029.
Playing eight games last year, Burrow completed 66.8 percent of his passes for 1,809 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Browns added a little extra protection for themselves to complete the Myles Garrett trade to the Rams this week.
While Cleveland received edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick from Los Angeles in exchange for Garrett, the league’s daily transaction wire noted that the final pick was conditional.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the condition on that 2029 third-round pick is that it will become a first-round pick in the event that the Rams trade Garrett to a team in the AFC North.
It doesn’t seem likely that the Rams would even want to trade Garrett at any point in the future.
But just in case they do, the Browns have at least made it unlikely that they’ll ever see Garrett twice a year on the opposing sideline.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow called this year’s roster the most talented one he’s been a part of in the NFL and the offseason moves on the defensive side of the ball are the biggest reason to feel that way.
The Bengals traded for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence after signing defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, edge rusher Boye Mafe, and safety Bryan Cook in free agency and before drafting two more defenders with their first two picks in the draft. Those moves addressed a major shortcoming for the Bengals in recent seasons and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said on Tuesday that everyone is looking for immediate results from the new arrivals.
“At the end of the day, we got to the Super Bowl in ’21 and never went back,” Chase said, via Ben Baby of ESPN.com. “So, expectations have always been high since 2021. But now that we have improved our defense a little more, the expectations have gone up for the defense to show us what they could do.”
The defense hasn’t been the only rough spot for the Bengals during their current playoff drought, but it’s been the most glaring one and that needs to change for the Bengals to get where they want to go in 2026.
The Bengals and Bears will hold a joint practice ahead of their Aug. 22 preseason game at Paycor Stadium.
The teams will work together on Thursday, Aug. 20, marking the second time in three seasons the Bengals and Bears have practiced against each other.
Bears coach Ben Johnson and Bengals coach Zac Taylor have a close friendship dating to the 2012 season when they worked together on the Dolphins staff.
“It’s very easy,” Taylor said when asked if his friendship with Johnson affects the scheduling, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “He’s been great. So he and I will iron that out over the next couple of days, but they’ll come here.”
The teams last practiced together in 2024, when rain marred the day. Two Bengals players were lost for the season with knee injuries, as running back Chris Evans and offensive tackle D’Ante Smith tore a patellar tendon.
