Bengals contract review: Rookies Ryan Glasgow and Jake Elliott

The Cincinnati Bengals have signed their entire draft class, so we continue with our series of contract breakdowns for the rookies.

Up next are Ryan Glasgow and Jake Elliott, two players who are signed to very manageable deals as Day 3 selections. Glasgow was the third front-seven player the Bengals took in this year’s NFL Draft after selecting Jordan Willis in Round 3 and Carl Lawson earlier in Round 4.

According to Spotrac, Glasgow is signed to a four-year deal that will pay him $569,912 this year, so long as he makes the 53-man roster. If he is waived, the Bengals will have a dead cap hit of $419,648. That’s why it’s very likely Glasgow makes the final roster, even if he has an underwhelming training camp and preseason.

The former Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman is, however, the only interior defensive lineman the Bengals took in this draft, which bodes well for his roster chances in 2017. Primarily a nose tackle at Michigan, Glasgow racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and 39 total tackles this past season.

And for an interior lineman, Glasgow is a solid pass-rusher. Per Pro Football Focus, Glasgow ranked second in pass-rush productivity among interior defensive linemen with 37 total pressures in 2016.

Glasgow brings something the Bengals don’t have enough of: pass-rushing from the interior of their defensive line. Coupled with being a fourth-round pick, expect Glasgow to be on the final roster this year.

As for Elliott, this was the first time in the Marvin Lewis era in which the Bengals drafted a kicker. It came early in Round 5 when they took the former Memphis Tigers star. The selection came as a bit of a surprise since most draft gurus had Zane Gonzalez rated as the top kicker in this draft, but the Bengals felt Elliott was superior, especially due to his kickoff ability and stability throughout college.

According to Spotrac, Elliott is signed to a four-year deal that will pay him $534,300 this year, so long as he makes the 53-man roster. If he is waived, the Bengals will have a dead cap hit of $277,201.

Elliott never missed an extra point or any kick from less than 30 yards in his college career. Additionally, 63 percent (210 of 330) of his kickoffs in college went for touchbacks. During the course of his four-year college career, Elliott became the school's all-time leading scorer in addition to setting records for total field goals made and field goals from 50+ yards.

Elliott will now challenge Randy Bullock and Jonathan Brown for the starting kicker job this season. Because the Bengals spent a fifth-round selection on Elliott, he’ll have to be pretty bad this offseason to lose this competition to Bullock, who had his shot last season, as well as Brown who has never kicked an NFL (or college) field goal in a live game.

Thus far in offseason workouts, Elliott has been slightly better than Bullock, though the real separation will likely come in preseason games.