The offseason is well underway in Cincinnati, as the Bengals are already making key roster moves for the future. After an impressive rookie campaign, the Bengals announced that they have signed second-year punter Ryan Rehkow to a two-year contract extension through the 2026 NFL season.
Rehkow went undrafted in 2024 and signed with the Bengals in July. He ultimately won the team's starting job in camp and impressed the brass in Cincinnati throughout the season as he set several team records with his leg. Now, he's being rewarded with a new deal.
Bengals sign punter Ryan Rehkow to two-year contract extension
Here's the official announcement from the team:
"The Bengals today signed P Ryan Rehkow to a two-year contract extension through the 2026 season. ... Rehkow, who will be a second-year player in 2025, originally signed with the Bengals as a free agent during the '24 offseason. He played in all 17 games as a rookie and punted 53 times for 2603 yards. His gross punting average (49.1) and net average (42.9) each set a Bengals single-season record and led all rookies in 2024. In his career debut on Sept. 8 vs. New England, he set an NFL single-game record with 64.5 yards per punt (minimum four attempts), and set a team record for longest punt (80 yards)."
Punting is an extremely important, albeit often overlooked, aspect of the game, and now the Bengals have a player that they feel they can trust at the position locked up for the next couple of seasons.
This is the second consecutive season that the team has locked up a key special teams contributor with an extension. Last August, the team agreed to a three-year extension with kicker Evan McPherson, who is now under contract through the 2027 season.
With Rehkow now taken care of, the Bengals can turn their attention to other extensions that are looming. Star players Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson are all seeking new deals this offseason, and a recent report from ESPN suggests that the team plans to try to get deals done with all three players.