Bengals Player Profile: Demetrius Knight Jr. needs to play like his age in monumental second year
Demetrius Knight Jr.’s final few games of 2025 offer hope for a second-year turnaround. He’s already 26 so he’s well in his physical prime, and needs to show it for the Cincinnati Bengals.
We’re 28 days (four weeks!) away from the Cincinnati Bengals’ preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Our countdown of every single player on the Bengals’ 90-man roster continues. Check out previous player profiles here.
The next name on the countdown is one of the most underrated players on the Bengals’ offense.
Demetrius Knight Jr. Player Profile
Age: 26
Year: 2nd
Position: Linebacker
College: South Carolina
Jersey Number: 44
Demetrius Knight Jr. was selected No. 49 overall in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Bengals. Prior to the NFL, Knight spent one year at South Carolina (2024) after one year at Charlotte (2023) and four years at Georgia Tech (2019-22). He never started a single game for GT, sparking a transfer to Charlotte that resulted in him earning First Team All-AAC honors. The Gamecocks came calling in 2024 and he started his first and final year at Power 4 college program, a move that ultimately helped put him on the map to be drafted early in 2025 despite being older than almost everyone in his class.
Cincinnati drafted Knight to start him right away, replacing Germaine Pratt in the process. He started 14 of 17 games and amassed 106 tackles, seven passes defensed, four tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, and one forced fumble. The production looks better than the tape as Knight often struggled early on in the season in both run defense and coverage. He finished the season on a relative high note, but enters 2026 with much to prove.
Contract details
Knight is entering the second year of his four-year, $9,012,498 rookie contract he signed last year. His base salary for the season is $1,249,659, which is fully guaranteed and how much total cash he’s earning this year. When adding on his signing bonus proration of $798,636, his salary cap hit for the year is $2,000,000.
Roster outlook
It’s been a rough 12 months for Knight. He was drafted with high expectations and didn’t live up to them as a rookie starter. Playing alongside another struggling rookie in Barrett Carter for most of the season didn’t help him, either.
Knight’s final few games of 2025, however, do offer hope for a second-year turnaround. He’s the Bengals’ best athlete at the position and offers the most upside as a result. He’s already 26 so he’s well in his physical prime.
The time is right now to show it, or else he won’t be starting for much longer beyond this year.
Roster odds: 100%