Cashius Howell Ends Chiefs Fandom After Bengals Pick: 'We Will See Them Whenever We See Them'

Cashius Howell is fired up to be a Cincinnati Bengal, and a certain Bengals rival got him even more juiced on Friday night. He met with the Cincinnati media after going to the Bengals at Pick 41 and took notice of the Chiefs passing him up at Pick 40 for fellow edge rusher, R Mason Thomas.

Howell was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year last season and tallied a top-10 national sack total (11.5 sacks). He was a Chiefs fan growing up, but those days are over.

Chiefs Fan No More

Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas A&M defensive lineman Cashius Howell (DL41) runs the 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"They took an edge rusher before me. So, it's good," Howell said. "I grew up a Kansas City Chiefs fan, but at this point, as I said, I'm just thankful to be a Bengal so we will see them whenever we see them ... I'm very happy to be a Bengal, and wouldn't want to be a Kansas City Chief at this point."

A fun note to start his Cincinnati career, as Howell is very thankful to be a Bengal.

"I think it would be a good experience," Howell said about sacking Chiefs passer Patrick Mahomes. "I'm trying to come in and make a positive impact on everything. So, if it comes down to me sacking Patrick Mahomes, so be it."

He spent three seasons (including a redshirt year) at Bowling Green before growing into his body and bursting on the scene at Texas A&M across 2024 and 2025.

All his hard work paid off this past fall, and now he's ready to elevate to the next level. Howell dialed up 31 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, and 41 quarterback pressures as a unanimous All-American edge rusher in his final A&M run.

"Just being a master of my craft," Howell stated about how he jumped from the MAC to the SEC. "Just honing in on the small technical details that I feel like that really separates you. So coming into league, I'm holding onto all the little details in every facet of my game to really just fine-tune myself and to put myself in the best position to come in there and make plays and to be a positive addition to the team."

Howell said all the right things across his first impression with the Bengals media, and now he's headed to the Queen City for his official introduction to the city. He's joining a new-look Bengals defense that figures to be much better than bottom-three in the NFL this fall after all the major additions these past few months.

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