CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly signed one of their draft picks to a record-breaking rookie contract.
NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reports the team agreed to a four-year deal with second-round selection Demetrius Knight Jr., with nearly 80-percent fully guaranteed at signing. Schultz says it’s the first time in NFL history that the 49th overall pick has had guarantees in year four.
Bengals rookies report to training camp on Saturday with defensive end Shemar Stewart as the only first-round selection around the league still unsigned.
Knight Jr., a linebacker out of South Carolina, is expected to replace Germaine Pratt, a veteran who was released this offseason. Knight was running with the first team defense alongside Logan Wilson, who missed the final five games of last season and then had minor surgery on his knee.
The 25-year-old Knight played his first four seasons at Georgia Tech in a reserve role, then transferred to Charlotte for the 2023 season and was First-team All-American Athletic Conference. He then played one season at South Carolina. Knight was called a “fast, thumping run stuffer and blitzer with an aold-school mentality” by Dane Brugler of The Athletic.