Bengals first round pick Shemar Stewart remains unsigned. On the surface, it isn't a big deal, but he's the only healthy first rounder not participating in the offseason program.
Why is he unsigned?
Former NFL executive Andrew Brandt shared key details about negotiations between the Bengals and Stewart's agent on the latest episode of the Business of Sports podcast.
"They're [the Bengals] basically putting in a default clause that says, if the player defaults and a default could be a breach like a discipline issue, a steroid or drug test issue, a morals clause issue, getting in trouble, being suspended, being fined, whatever default is defined as, you can void future guarantees," Brandt said. "In other words, if this happens in year one, you can say, 'well, year two, three, four are not guaranteed.’ And that is something the Bengals are trying to impose for their own precedent where they can do it now going forward with all rookies and maybe even with veterans. Shemar Stewart's agent is saying 'nope, no sir, because last year you didn't have the 17th pick, you had the 18th pick and he didn't have that.' And in past years, players like Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, they didn't have that."
Stewart has been present for the offseason program, but hasn't participated in any on-field drills.
“The Bengals saying, we're trying to create the precedent. So this is the one that could last a while. Basically, it's all about language," Brandt added. "That could go into training camp. I know there's all kinds of restrictions on holding out of training camp. And maybe the Bengals who are known to be tough. You know, known to be very tough. Just hold the line, saying, 'it'll be here when you want to sign it. Players got no options down the road. What is he going to do? Not sign. Here we go.'”
Stewart's father weighed in on the situation earlier this week, making it clear that they just want what previous first round picks have received from the Bengals.
"The verbiage in the contract isn't the same as past draft picks who were drafted lower than him," Moe Marquez said. "We don't want any more than anybody else has gotten. We want the same. We want the exact same that great player Amarius Mims got. We want to say we want the exact same that every Bengal first round pick has gotten. And for some reason, they want to choose to change verbiage up this year. And we don't think that it's the right precedent to set this year because he was a higher pick than the years past."
The Bengals selected Stewart with the 17th overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. They're hoping he can give their pass rush a major boost this season. That's going to be hard to do if this contract dispute lasts throughout the offseason program and into training camp like Brandt suggested.
