Bengals Beat: Bengals Have Perfect Attendance, No Drama As Rookie Minicamp Takes Place at Paycor ‘Regardless of Negotiations… I Love Football’

CINCINNATI — Unlike 12 months prior, the Bengals had to have loved the words coming out their first draft selection on Friday. Cashius Howell just wanted to be on the field Friday for rookie minicamp, with or without an NFL rookie contract finalized.

Safe to say, the Bengals are expecting a lot less drama with this rookie class.

Last year, the inability to sign first-round pick Shemar Stewart generated headlines for all the wrong reasons. They couldn’t come to an agreement until training camp in July over so-called “default language” that is now commonplace in all NFL rookie deals.

On Friday, before the one-day rookie minicamp inside Paycor Stadium, the Bengals announced that they had signed all of their Day 3 picks and 10 additional college free agents, meaning only second-rounder Cashius Howell and third-round selection Tacario Davis took the field without a deal in hand.

But with Howell and Davis, both rookies made it clear, they just wanted to be on the field and there was no agent telling them it was not in their best interest to do so.

“I love football,” Howell said. “At the end of the day, regardless of the negotiations still being intact, I love football, so I’m ready to do everything that I can in my power to put myself in the best position to go out there and give everything I can. Regardless of the contract not being negotiated fully, doesn’t really matter to me.”

So, the Bengals had perfect attendance from all seven draft picks, in addition to 15 rookie college free agents and four first-year players who were with the Bengals in 2025 but were eligible to take part in Friday’s light one-hour drill session.

Friday was all football business, and the players and coaches could not have been happier about that.

The five draft selections signed were:

• C Connor Lew (6-4, 310) was selected in the fourth round (128th overall) out of Auburn University. He played in 31 career games with 25 starts at center over three seasons (2023-25) with the Tigers.
• WR Colbie Young (6-4, 218) also was a fourth-round pick (140th overall) out of the University of Georgia. He began his career at the University of Miami (Fla.) from 2022-23, then spent the ’23-24 seasons with the Bulldogs. He totaled 116 career receptions for 1437 yards and 13 TDs.
• OL Brian Parker II (6-5, 310) was a sixth-round pick (189th overall) out of Duke University. He played in 40 games with 33 starts for the Blue Devils, including 26 consecutive starts to close out his career. He earned second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in each of his final two seasons, and in 2025 was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press.
• TE Jack Endries (6-5, 245) was taken in the seventh round (221st overall) out of the University of Texas. He played his first two collegiate seasons (2023-24) at the University of California, then transferred to Texas for the ’25 campaign. In 39 career games (all starts), he caught 124 passes for 1376 yards and seven TDs.
• DT Landon Robinson (6-0, 295) also was a seventh-round pick (226th) out of the U.S. Naval Academy. In 38 career games with 26 starts at Navy, he recorded 153 tackles, 18.5 TFLs, 14.5 sacks, two FFs, one FR and one blocked kick. He was named first-team All-American Athletic Conference in each of his final two seasons, and in 2025 collected AAC Defensive Player of the Year along with AP first-team All-America honors.

Here are the 11 college free agents signed:

• G Liam Brown; 6-5, 307; Montana; Beaverton, Ore.
  HB Kentrel Bullock; 5-10, 204; South Alabama; Columbia, Miss.
  LB Jack Dingle; 6-4, 235; Cincinnati; Louisville, Ky.
  LB Eric Gentry; 6-7, 221; Southern California; Philadelphia, Pa.
  HB Jamal Haynes; 5-7, 195; Georgia Tech; Loganville, Ga.
  OT Christian Jones; 6-9, 345; San Diego State; Avila Beach, Calif.
  TE Josh Kattus; 6-4, 245; Kentucky; Cincinnati, Ohio
  OT Corey Robinson II; 6-5, 311; Arkansas; Roswell, Ga.
  WR Noah Thomas; 6-5, 203; Georgia; Pearland, Texas
  CB Ceyair Wright; 6-0, 185; Nebraska; Los Angeles, Calif.
  S Isaiah Nwokobia; 6-0, 206; SMU

Several hours after the minicamp, the Bengals announced they had scooped up linebacker Swayze Bozeman on waivers from the New York Giants and signed college free agent safety Isaiah Nwokobia.

Bozeman (6-2, 225), a second-year player out of the University of Southern Mississippi, originally was a college free agent signee of Kansas City in 2024. He has played in nine career games for the Chiefs (2024) and Giants (’25), totaling five defensive tackles along with four special teams stops. Nwokobia (6-0, 206) is a rookie out of Southern Methodist University.

Howell immediately showcased the hybrid role coaches envisioned, spending time dropping into coverage, a tactical shift aimed at making the defense more “multiple”. Howell felt immediate chemistry during drills with fellow draftee Landon Robinson, noting, “A lot of rigorous things they had to do [at Navy]. I couldn’t do it. Salutes to him for doing that, though.”

Robinson embraced the appeal of joining a contender. “Definitely, talking to my agent, I did feel like there would be an opportunity to make the team here. They got a great quarterback, great other pieces, good, developing offensive line; it was just exciting,” Robinson said. .

The other group that stood out Friday was the secondary, with third-rounder Tacario Davis and free agents Ceyair Wright and safety Jalen Kimber. All three represent a youth movement in the secondary. Wright, known for his dual career as an actor, embraced the transition.

“The duality of that is something I’ve done my entire life,” Wright said. “Knowing that energy is put into something all the way at the same time I’m doing something else”.

All of this had to make head coach Zac Taylor smile as he will integrate the rookies with the veterans on Monday inside Paycor as offseason workouts enter Phase 2.

“Every unit is going to get a chance to compete against guys you’re going to see in the season,” Taylor said. “I’m really excited about the depth that we’ve developed.”