Unlike last year, when the Cincinnati Bengals rookie class took the field inside Paycor Stadium for minicamp, every draft pick participated, including the two players who haven’t signed their contracts.
The Bengals are continuing with their drama-free offseason. Because of what transpired between the Bengals and Shemar Stewart last offseason, that’s noteworthy. Full participation by the draft picks marks another important step for the franchise to once again set themselves up to contend for a Super Bowl.
Five of the Bengals’ draft picks signed their contracts ahead of rookie minicamp. Cashius Howell and Tacario Davis have yet to sign their rookie deals. Howell was drafted by the Bengals in the second round with Davis following in the third round.
It’s not unusual for higher draft picks to not sign their contracts right away. To protect themselves, the rookie can sign a waiver pertaining to their participation. Davis and Howell signed their waivers allowing them to participate in the Bengals’ voluntary offseason program with protection if an injury were to take place.
One of the biggest stories in the NFL last year took place during this time in Cincinnati. Stewart opted not to sign his participation agreement during his contract negotiations and missed the entire offseason and start of training camp. It was an unprecedented situation in the NFL.
Typically, if a player hasn’t put inked his contract yet, he signs the waiver to ensure they can participate.
Stewart held firm in his dispute with the Bengals and was willing to miss time on the field to ensure he received what he was looking for in his contract.
The former No. 17 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft spent his first three months of his professional career fighting with the Bengals over new language the team wanted to add to the contract pertaining to guaranteed money. Stewart didn’t believe he should be the first Bengals’ first-round pick to accept the new language and held out.
Stewart finally agreed on the terms of his rookie contract on July 26, three days after the start of training camp. When Stewart finally got on the practice fields during training camp, the Bengals had to be cautious with how they ramped up his workload. It unquestionably put Stewart behind in his progression from college to the NFL.
“He’s made a lot of progress … we’re going to work right through the kickoff with him, just because we’ve missed so much time,” Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden said Sept. 1 ahead of the Week 1 opener in Cleveland.
Stewart’s rookie season didn’t go as planned for several reasons, with injuries playing the most significant role. He played in only eight games and recorded 11 tackles, four quarterback hits and one sack.
Despite being former teammates at Texas A&M for one season, Howell didn’t follow in Stewart’s footsteps on this matter.
“I love football and at the end of the day,” Howell said. “Regardless of negotiations still being attacked, I love football so I wanted to do everything I could in my power to put myself in the best position to go out there and get anything I can, with the football, the talk and communication, just every aspect. Regardless of the contract not being negotiated fully, it doesn’t really matter to me.”
Davis relayed a similar sentiment as to why he wanted to make sure he’s able to practice as well.
“Stealing reps, just control what I can control,” Davis said. “That’s why I have an agent, he does great job with that, so just let him handle all that. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to take care of that.”
Rookie minicamp is the first step in the progression for a draft pick. Next, the rookies will join the rest of the team starting May 11.
The Bengas are counting on Howell and Davis to help right away, and the fact that both players are on the field already getting reps is another step in the right direction.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals get full participation from rookies, avoid any holdouts