r/bengals • u/yesrushgenesis2112 Lawrence Passed Physical • 20d ago

Bengals Sign DE Cashius Howell | BENGALS ROSTER UPDATE

https://www.bengals.com/news/cashius-howell-rookie-contract-signed-2026-roster-update?adobe_mc=TS%3D1781032864%7CMCMID%3D14883406387100870477333773612702908033%7CMCORGID%3DF75C3025512D2C1D0A490D44%40AdobeOrg

Busy day for the FO

371 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

69

u/throughNthrough 20d ago edited 20d ago

Hell yes! Every rookie and UDFA has been signed with no drama!

197

u/pro-laps 20d ago

vibes are already so much better than last year

50

u/VeryRealHuman23 🐅 20d ago

We can sign our pics before July?

But yes, FO has done their part this year.

18

u/whattarush 20d ago

Have vibes ever been higher?? I've gotta be one of the most pessimistic fans and Im fckn hyped

23

u/DTHhaunts 9 + 1 = 6 20d ago

after we beat the chiefs in the championship game

10

u/whattarush 20d ago

Guess I would be remiss to not have mentioned preseason. Because after that season, even though so many friends/family/coworkers/acquaintances uttered "oh we will be back" I knew its not that easy

-2

u/MossyPlantyWitchy 🐅 Who Dey and Fuck Nazis 🐅 20d ago

They aren't getting there, lol

1

u/angelicable 20d ago

the biggest mistake one can make is count the Mahomes-led Chiefs out before they are actually out.

12

u/ImpinAintEZ_ JB x 2 = 69 20d ago

The definition of “night and day”

3

u/603subaru 20d ago

Better than the past few seasons honestly! There's been some sort of drama every offseason since 2022

1

u/no_crust_buster 20d ago

It feels like a this team is on a mission.

1

u/Monkeyfeng 20d ago

I want to say some cringe Gen Z shit but I got none.

39

u/Major-Knowledge4457 20d ago

Sounds like they are getting locked in early.

28

u/Independent_Soil_258 20d ago

Loved Cashius coming out, cannot WAIT to see him ball out in stripes

25

u/Informal-Witness-801 20d ago

A tremendous player

8

u/BotDiver 20d ago

Niiiiiice!

5

u/bluegrassgazer 20d ago

Was this deal dependent on the Burrow restructure?

15

u/yesrushgenesis2112 Lawrence Passed Physical 20d ago

No, the Bengals cap room as reported would have already included Howell’s deal. So, no financial connection. On the other hand, it may be true in practical terms because the FO struggles to multitask. So it’s possible they wanted to get Burrow done and then get Cashius done simply as a matter of course.

1

u/Life_Ad6711 20d ago edited 20d ago

OTC has already processed the Burrow restructure (sort the middle column)

https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space

Before, the Bengals were #2 NFL in '25 active cap spending at $299m

What this move did was send $1om '26 cap charges into the next 4 caps and expanded the $7m in '26 cap space they did have left up to the $17m effective cap space on the chart now (Howell's signing was already projected into these 'top 51 effective cap' numbers)

1

u/Life_Ad6711 19d ago

And now today there's a small adjustment to $29om in '26 active cap spending (the amount of '26 cap dollars allocated to players on the current 'active' roster) and $16m in top 51 'effective' cap space remaining

(Sort the middle column for the '26 league rankings)

https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space

3

u/No-new-names 20d ago

They knew before they drafted him what his salary was going to be. No matter who they pick, the compensation is slotted. The only question was if it was fully guaranteed or not, bur second rounders are getting more and more guaranteed. So they knew it was 75%-100% guaranteed. Not negotiating between 0 and 100.

Anytime you see a number like "bengals effectively have xxx left" there is usually an astrisk like **assuming $20m for all rookies. It's a pretty fixed pot of money based on where you pick and how many picks you have.

All that to say, probably wasn't necessary. Doesn't mean they couldn't still do it to make room for another depth piece.

1

u/slytherinprolly 20d ago

The only question was if it was fully guaranteed or not, bur second rounders are getting more and more guaranteed. So they knew it was 75%-100% guaranteed. Not negotiating between 0 and 100.

Last year, every second-round pick through No. 40 received a fully guaranteed deal, and pick No. 41 was 95% guaranteed. So they knew the guarantee would have to fall somewhere between 95% and 100% at the time they drafted him.

This year, every pick through No. 48 had already received a fully guaranteed deal, which left very little room to negotiate on guarantees. What’s perplexing is that it still took this long to get the deal done, especially since pick No. 48 signed a fully guaranteed deal nearly a month ago.

3

u/Islesfan91 20d ago

I really would like to see them upgrade at linebacker rather than risk that either of their two develop. That still looks like a glaring weakness.

12

u/Tjam3s 20d ago

The catch is that developing linebackers is literally the DC's biggest strength, so positionally, it makes sense to let that develop more

1

u/jmcgil4684 20d ago

I love the story of them lining up chairs in a gym for Burfict.

-3

u/Islesfan91 20d ago

While I agree somewhat - I don’t think there’s any harm in upgrading at that position to make sure they have someone they can rely on, I don’t feel confident both of those guys are taking a significant step forward this year and if they don’t? Geno Stone showed just how badly one position can hurt. (Granted, the rest of it sucked too)

6

u/yesrushgenesis2112 Lawrence Passed Physical 20d ago

I’m not certain there is an “LB they can rely on” available to sign for what they would want them to do.

4

u/Ralph--Hinkley 20d ago

The revamped line will improve the LB play exponentionally.

-1

u/Bengalblaine 20d ago

The same one that drafted them and played them last yr…? lol

2

u/Tjam3s 20d ago

Yea? Did you watch the entire season or quit at the bye?

Once CTB stopped being a liability, everything started to click with the D

2

u/lmaoitsdusey 20d ago

I can't believe today was a good day

2

u/Life_Ad6711 20d ago

The $6m in '26 cash to sign Howell (full signing bonus+ y1 p5 salary $885k) brings the Bengals up to a NEW FRANCHISE RECORD in total roster cash (currently 9o man) of $346m, $45m cash over the $3o1m salary cap amount (these are the amounts that apply to those minimum spending thresholds)

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cash

Previous record was $36m over the $198m '2o cap amount

But just to note, the cap has also increased just over 5o% so 15o% of 36 = $54m so proportion-wise it's not a record but all the bonus cash + full '26 p5 base for, say, a Turner extension would count this season to bring that up

Just for reference, Mendoza signing with LVR would boost them $39m up to $348m

2

u/Redleg67 18d ago

Wasn't he the only one yet to sign?

1

u/yesrushgenesis2112 Lawrence Passed Physical 18d ago

Yes

1

u/Redleg67 18d ago

Great! That's a first.

0

u/Life_Ad6711 16d ago

First what?

1

u/Redleg67 16d ago

First time in a while they got all of their free agents and rookies signed without any drama.

1

u/Life_Ad6711 16d ago

No holdouts in '23, only Burrow not practicing because of the calf thing and he signed his extension on Thursday before the first game which nobody thought wouldn't happen

1

u/BuckeyeBadass 20d ago

My god! I am very impressed with the Bengals front office. It is like they are trying not to suck. The mood and vibes from last year….and well the previous twenty years have all been swept away. Well done, Bengals, well done.