CINCINNATI \u2014 The way Bengals first-round pick Shemar Stewart fired off the line, it sounded like it could have come out of the mouth of any agent in a negotiation, NFL insider sharing information on a call or a Bengals fan sitting at a corner barstool.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 100 percent right,\u201d he said, sitting in front of his locker on Tuesday, sounding like he was speaking directly to management. \u201cI\u2019m not asking for nothing y\u2019all have never done before. But in y\u2019all case, y\u2019all just want to win arguments (more) than winning more games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stewart\u2019s situation is complicated. If you want to go deep into the lawyer language about voided guarantees and waivers, that\u2019s the thrust of this individual issue. The sides are divided over language in the contract where the Bengals are trying to set a new precedent compared to what was given to previous first-round picks. He is refusing to sign the injury waiver to practice while the negotiation gets figured out, as many rookies do. Then, he used Tuesday\u2019s media availability to air grievances against the organization about all of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to implement something new, to me, is unfair,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cAnd I feel like I\u2019ve been nothing but fair. I\u2019m not asking for nothing crazy. I could understand if I was asking for more on my signing bonus, which I\u2019m not. They trying to do all of this is crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He sounded frustrated and disenchanted with his surroundings. His comments were more explosive than just about anything Trey Hendrickson has said, and Hendrickson has been fighting these contract battles for four years. Stewart was drafted six weeks ago.<\/p>\n
In fairness to him, he merely wants the standard slotted contract that\u2019s been the case around here and is the case among picks around him. He\u2019s a 21-year-old who has never been through anything like this and couldn\u2019t have expected to have to go through it in a league where rookie contracts are glorified rubber stamps. Advocating for himself is admirable.<\/p>\n
In fairness to the Bengals, they\u2019d probably just ask him to sign the injury waiver and practice if he really wants to be on the field. Unsigned second-round pick Demetrius Knight Jr. did the same and has spoken about putting the business element aside for now to get in his work. It\u2019s likely a long-term strategy to keep your grievances against the team that drafted you and will employ you for the next four to five years to yourself, even with the right to speak about disagreements in terms of a deal.<\/p>\n
Nothing about this quickly escalating from issue to debacle was good for anybody.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s always a need to take sides in an impasse like this one. It\u2019s what we do in the age of embracing debate.<\/p>\n
The problem in even considering siding with the Bengals here is that any benefit of the doubt has long been gone.<\/p>\n
Even if casting aside the undeniable history of the organization\u2019s negotiating history, the last 12 months have been full of these same issues chipping away at the treatment of the players and the pride of the culture, one incident at a time.<\/p>\n
They lead to an undercurrent of distrust. In some of the most concerning words of the day, Stewart vocalized that exact sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s made it very easy when the people in here, in the locker room, say, \u2018you\u2019re doing the right things,\u2019 especially the star players,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n
Some very frank and direct comments from Shemar Stewart, and why he continues to feel he\u2019s 100 percent right to sit out. Clearly very upset and frustrated with Bengals that he is not signed and on the field. pic.twitter.com\/WawvWU8QKu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mike Petraglia (@Trags) June 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n In an offseason as challenging as any the front office has faced in recent memory, the Bengals brass haven\u2019t proven capable of rising to the moment and instead emphasized hard lines of business over cleaner paths to a championship.<\/p>\n Yes, they found deals with Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but what went down last year with Chase cost games (and money). Higgins\u2019 deal came only after years of tags, trade requests and squabbling. The hard path in negotiations this year bled into free agency and took attention away from better executing that aspect of the offseason.<\/p>\n The Bengals have let the Hendrickson situation drag out, failing to either trade or sign the edge rusher, knowing the on-field advantages of being decisive and proactive in one way or the other.<\/p>\n As if it needed to be said following Hendrickson\u2019s surprise drop-in and media session last month, but even Joe Burrow admitted on Tuesday that the Hendrickson situation<\/a> was a distraction.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, of course,\u201d Burrow said. \u201cLast year we had two, this year we have one. So we do have less. You\u2019d love to have none, but that\u2019s life in the NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n How these situations repeatedly draw out in disputes is now a punchline from the face of the franchise instead of a point of pride.<\/p>\n And yes, other places in the NFL have contract disputes. T.J. Watt is in the same position in Pittsburgh. But, around these parts, it is every single summer with this stuff.<\/p>\n