{"id":225494,"date":"2025-07-21T21:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T21:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/225494\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T21:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T21:24:11","slug":"bengals-leadership-livid-over-shemar-stewarts-contract-holdout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/225494\/","title":{"rendered":"Bengals’ leadership livid over Shemar Stewart’s contract holdout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trey Hendrickson isn\u2019t the only Bengals player in a contract dispute with the franchise<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But while Cincinnati tries to level with Hendrickson the best it can to retain the All-Pro edge rusher, the Bengals\u2019 front office is singing a bit of a different tune when it comes to unsigned-rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Shemar needs to be here,\u201d Bengals executive Duke Tobin said on Monday<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m not going to blame Shemar. He is listening to the advice he is paying for. I don\u2019t understand or believe or agree with the advice but I\u2019m not the one paying for it. If I felt we were treating him unfairly as it relates to all the other draft picks in this year\u2019s draft then maybe it would be a different story. But we are not. I don\u2019t really understand where things are there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shemar Stewart is still unsigned after being drafted by the Bengals in April. AP<\/p>\n

Cincinnati selected Stewart with the No. 17 pick in April\u2019s NFL draft, but he has yet to sign his contract due to an issue he and his representatives have with the contract\u2019s guarantees.<\/p>\n

In what\u2019s essentially a wild hypothetical, Stewart and his agency don\u2019t want the franchise to be able to take back any guaranteed money.<\/p>\n

Bengals owner Mike Brown spoke on Stewart\u2019s situation and expressed his disagreement in Stewart\u2019s stance. @FOX19joe\/X<\/p>\n

\u201cA very peculiar thing. It\u2019s not about money. It\u2019s about the guarantee in the case of if he were to do something contrary to the discipline levels of the league,\u201d Brown said<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to happen ever. That\u2019s what\u2019s holding it up. It\u2019s never happened as long as I can remember. His agent wants it to be if he acted in a terrible fashion \u2014 this is all hypothetical \u2014 something that rises to the level of going to prison, we\u2019d be on the line for the guarantee.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we get a player who does something unacceptable, guess what? I don\u2019t want to pay him. I really don\u2019t. If he\u2019s sitting in jail, I don\u2019t think I have to pay him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bengals selected Stewart with the 17th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. AP<\/p>\n

As a rookie, Stewart is supposed to have already reported to training camp. However, he posted to his Instagram story Monday a photo where he is working out with his former teammates<\/a> at his alma mater, Texas A&M.<\/p>\n

Also dealing with the All-Pro edge rusher Hendrickson\u2019s contract dispute, the Bengals\u2019 front office had its hands full responding to the media Monday.<\/p>\n

Stewart posted a photo showing that he is back at Texas A&M rather than in Cincinnati. Shemar Stewart\/Instagram<\/p>\n

While progress seems to be being made with Hendrickson, neither side looks to want to compromise in Stewart\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re sitting here arguing over something that is pretty remote, I ask myself sometimes why the hell we\u2019re doing it,\u201d Brown said. \u201cBut we are, and he\u2019s doing it too and at some point, we\u2019ve got to put this stuff behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

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