Cincinnati Bengals first-round draft pick Shemar Stewart remained unsigned as of the second Friday in July, as the two sides have been battling over language in the rookie contract offered by the Bengals that could allow them to void future guarantees.
During a Thursday appearance on Columbus sports radio station 97.1 The Fan, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter predicted how the situation involving Stewart and the Bengals will end.
“I think he’s dug in on the language,” Schefter said about Stewart, as shared by Matthew Marczi of Steelers Depot. “He doesn’t want to be the first one and be made an example of. The Bengals haven’t had this language before. Other teams have had it, but the Bengals haven’t, and he doesn’t want to be the guy. He seems unwilling to budge.”
Per Jeff Howe, Paul Dehner Jr. and Jenna West of The Athletic, Stewart said as he was leaving Cincinnati’s mandatory minicamp in June that he felt he was “100 percent right” regarding the contract language and wasn’t asking the Bengals “for nothing y’all have never done before.” More recently, Dehner wrote that the Bengals should want to get Stewart locked down before first-year pros are due to report for training camp on July 19 “so the raw edge-rusher can start the process of building an NFL skill set to contribute as a rookie.”
Additionally, a Bengals team that’s expected to compete for at least a playoff spot with star quarterback Joe Burrow leading the charge is involved in a contract dispute with star pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson. Earlier in the offseason, Cincinnati signed wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, wideout Tee Higgins and tight end Mike Gesicki to new deals.
“My guess is he’s gonna win that argument,” Schefter added about the Stewart-Bengals saga. “What, are they gonna wait and say, ‘No, we’re not gonna give him [that] language?’ Try to do it another year with a later pick. This would not be the time to do that. They need him in for his own personal development, for the strength of that defense. The longer they go without him, the more time he misses, the further he’s set back, the more [it] slows his development, which doesn’t help the defense, which puts this team behind the 8-ball.”
The Bengals signed Burrow to a big-money five-year contract extension in September 2023. However, he theoretically could have second thoughts about remaining with the organization if he feels it isn’t doing enough to keep his teammates happy.
If nothing else, Burrow and others in the locker room are likely at least somewhat frustrated with the team’s ownership over how it has handled the Stewart matter since the spring.
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