The latest on Bengals rookie contracts, including Joe Burrow

The latest on Bengals rookie deals, including No. 1 pick Joe Burrow

CINCINNATI — Bengals rookies reported to training camp on Tuesday, although their time at Paul Brown Stadium was brief. 

Each one of them were tested for COVID-19 and four of their draft picks signed their contracts with the team. 

Logan Wilson, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Markus Bailey and Hakeem Adeniji each signed their deals. The Bengals still have to sign No. 1 pick Joe Burrow, wide receiver Tee Higgins and fifth-rounder Khalid Kareem. 

Some have expressed concern about Burrow not coming to terms with the Bengals, but there aren't any issues according to Geoff Hobson. 

"No hiccups have been heard," Hobson wrote on Bengals.com. 

That aligns with everything that has been said around the league over the past few months. 

The Bengals always planned on waiting until the days leading up to training camp to officially sign their rookies and free agent acquisitions. The safety protocols that were put in place by the league made it tough to sign these players.

It won't be a surprise if the rest of the rookie class is signed by the end of the week — maybe sooner. 

These youngsters were living in various parts of the country. It's much easier to sign them now that they're in Cincinnati. 

Each rookie took a COVID-19 test on Tuesday. Those results should come back sometime Wednesday. 

If each player is negative, they will take another test this week. Once they have back-to-back negative tests, the rookies can get on the field and in the gym together. 

It's been a long offseason, but the Bengals should have their players signed in the near future. 

Football appears to be right around the corner and fans will [hopefully] get to see Burrow wear a Bengals helmet in the near future.


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James Rapien
JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien is the publisher of Bengals On SI. He's also the host of the Locked on Bengals podcast and Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. The Cincinnati native also wrote a book about the history of the Cincinnati Bengals called Enter The Jungle. Prior to joining Bengals On SI, Rapien worked at 700 WLW and ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati