Just Now: Howell Still Unsigned. Bengals In Trouble

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]The Bengals are doing it again.

[00:00:02]Their newest draft pick still hasn't signed his contract and the clock is ticking louder than anyone wants to admit.

[00:00:09]Let me ask you something.

[00:00:11]What is it about the Cincinnati Bengals and contract drama that just never seems to go away?

[00:00:16]Here we are, fresh off another NFL draft and Cassius Howle, the Bengals second round pick, 41st overall, a raw and explosive edge rusher with serious upside, still does not have a signed contract. Not done.

[00:00:31]Not finished.

[00:00:33]Just sitting there in limbo while every other team around them is getting their business handled.

[00:00:38]Now, before you panic, and trust me, I get it, because Bengals fans have been through this before, let's break down exactly what is happening, why it is different this time, and why it still absolutely raises red flags you cannot ignore.

[00:00:53]But wait until you hear what Cassius himself said about all of this.

[00:00:57]Because his words tell you everything about the kind of player Cincinnati just drafted.

[00:01:02]This is not last year.

[00:01:04]But it rhymes. If you were watching the Bengals last off-season, you remember the Shay Shamar Stewart situation like it was yesterday.

[00:01:11]Stewart, a first round pick taken 17th overall, dragged his contract negotiations deep into the summer.

[00:01:19]He did not put pen to paper until July 25th, the second day of training camp.

[00:01:25]That was a disaster in slow motion.

[00:01:27]Now, here is where Howle's situation is different and this part actually matters.

[00:01:33]Cassius Howle is not sitting at home.

[00:01:35]He is not holding out.

[00:01:37]He is out on that practice field every single day, working with the defensive line, getting reps, building chemistry with his teammates.

[00:01:46]He has already signed his injury waiver, which is exactly why he is allowed to practice without a fully executed contract in place.

[00:01:54]So, physically, he is there.

[00:01:57]mentally.

[00:01:58]He is locked in.

[00:01:59]But, here is the part that should make every Bengals fan raise an eyebrow.

[00:02:04]Howell is one of the only second-round picks in this entire draft class who still has not signed a full deal.

[00:02:11]Think about that for a second.

[00:02:13]Eight players picked before him at number 41, all signed.

[00:02:17]The first six players picked after him also signed.

[00:02:22]Every single one of them received fully guaranteed four-year contracts.

[00:02:26]So, Howell is sitting right in the middle of that group, and his four-year deal worth over $12 million should, by every logical standard, also be fully guaranteed.

[00:02:36]This is not complicated math.

[00:02:39]This is the Bengals being the Bengals, always the last ones to the party.

[00:02:44]Who do you think drops the ball more in these negotiations, the team or the agents?

[00:02:49]Drop your honest take in the comments right now.

[00:02:52]Chapter three. The clock is already lying here. Here is where things get a little spicy.

[00:02:57]Howell's own agent went on record, this was on Local 12, and said the deal should be wrapped up within a week or two.

[00:03:04]That was 3 weeks ago.

[00:03:06]3 weeks.

[00:03:07]No update.

[00:03:09]No announcement.

[00:03:11]No contract.

[00:03:13]Just silence.

[00:03:14]So, what exactly is going on behind closed doors in Cincinnati?

[00:03:18]Because when an agent says a week or two and then 3 weeks pass with nothing, that tells you the two sides are not as close as they want the public to believe.

[00:03:27]Something is being argued over.

[00:03:29]Something is holding this up, and the most obvious answer is the guarantee structure.

[00:03:34]The Bengals organization has been historically slow to adapt to how the rest of the league does business.

[00:03:41]Second-round fully guaranteed contracts are now basically the standard across the NFL.

[00:03:46]Almost every team has accepted this reality.

[00:03:49]The Bengals are still playing catch-up, and it is their own rookie who pays the price while they figure it out.

[00:03:55]But wait until you hear what Cassius Howl himself said. Because this young man handled it with more maturity than most veterans would.

[00:04:03]Cassius speaks, and it is real Howl did not complain.

[00:04:07]He did not make noise.

[00:04:09]He did not let the drama become a distraction.

[00:04:12]Instead, he said something that every single Bengals fan needed to hear.

[00:04:17]He said he is not losing sleep over practicing without a signed deal.

[00:04:21]He said he loves football.

[00:04:23]He said any day he gets to lace up his cleats is a good day for him.

[00:04:28]That right there.

[00:04:29]That is a competitor.

[00:04:31]That is a guy who gets it.

[00:04:33]And the good news is that while he is out there without a guaranteed contract, he is not wasting a single rep. He is working under defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and linebackers coach Al Golden.

[00:04:45]He is developing his pass rush arsenal.

[00:04:48]Because while Howl is already elite at bending around the edge with that quick-twitch explosiveness that made him a draft day steal, there is still plenty of game to add to his toolkit.

[00:04:58]On top of that, he is getting time around Dexter Lawrence. A guy who has reportedly been an outstanding presence in the locker room and on the practice field since arriving in Cincinnati.

[00:05:08]That kind of veteran influence on a young edge rusher.

[00:05:12]That is priceless.

[00:05:14]That is the kind of stuff you cannot put a dollar value on, even when the front office is arguing over exactly how many of those dollars should be guaranteed.

[00:05:22]History says be patient, but be worried, too. Let's put this into full context.

[00:05:27]Last year's second-round pick, Demetrius Knight Jr., went through a very similar process.

[00:05:34]He signed his injury waiver, practiced through the early summer, and did not get his full contract finalized until July 19th.

[00:05:42]So, there is a real possibility that Howl's deal does not officially close until sometime in mid to late July.

[00:05:48]The problem, and this is the part that should genuinely concern Bengals fans, is that Chidobe Awuzie himself admitted that the prolonged contract drama from last year affected his play on the field.

[00:06:00]He said it out loud.

[00:06:01]A rookie trying to learn a new system, build new relationships, establish himself in the NFL, and in the back of his mind, there was always that financial uncertainty hanging over everything.

[00:06:13]Awuzie missed valuable developmental time because of it.

[00:06:17]And the Bengals absolutely cannot afford to let that happen again, especially with a player like Howell who has the raw ability to become a cornerstone of this defense for years to come.

[00:06:27]Cincinnati's front office needs to stop treating rookie contract negotiations like a slow-cooked meal.

[00:06:34]Get it done.

[00:06:35]Eliminate the noise.

[00:06:37]Let these young players focus entirely on becoming the best football players they can be, because right now, that is the only thing that should matter.

[00:06:45]Here is your comment challenge for today, and be honest. When do you think Chidobe Awuzie finally signs his deal?

[00:06:52]This week?

[00:06:54]Late June?

[00:06:55]Sometime in July?

[00:06:57]Or does this drag all the way into training camp again?

[00:07:01]Drop your prediction in the comments, and let's see who calls it right.

[00:07:05]All right, let's end this on something that actually gets the blood pumping, because contract talk only goes so far before you need to talk real football.

[00:07:14]Here is the question everybody should be arguing about right now.

[00:07:18]Which edge rusher finishes the 2025 season as the Bengals sack leader?

[00:07:23]You have got a stacked group to choose from.

[00:07:25]Myles Murphy, who has been building toward a breakout moment for two straight seasons now.

[00:07:31]Chidobe Awuzie, who has everything to prove after a rocky rookie year.

[00:07:36]Boye Mafe, who brings a different kind of intensity to that position every single snap.

[00:07:42]And then there is the newcomer, Cassius Howell, the guy this whole conversation has been about, who could absolutely come in and shock everyone if he gets settled in fast enough.

[00:07:52]Dexter Lawrence is a force of nature, but we are keeping this strictly to the edge rushers, so do not even go there.

[00:07:59]So, who is it?

[00:08:01]Who leads Cincinnati's pass rush in sacks this year?

[00:08:04]Drop your pick in the comments right now and let's get a real debate going because this defensive line conversation is just getting started.