{"id":69638,"date":"2025-05-22T07:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T07:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/69638\/"},"modified":"2025-05-22T07:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T07:37:11","slug":"cincinnati-bengals-rookie-shemar-stewarts-reason-for-holding-out-is-reasonable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/69638\/","title":{"rendered":"Cincinnati Bengals Rookie Shemar Stewart’s Reason for Holding Out Is Reasonable"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is overwhelmingly easy for Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> fans to turn on first-round edge rusher Shemar Stewart. He\u2019s a raw prospect who is expected to contribute in Year 1 for a Super Bowl contender. With 4.5 collegiate sacks to his name, he has a lot to prove, and holding himself out of practice isn\u2019t helping.<\/p>\n

Stewart is currently holding out due to issues with his rookie contract. But the Bengals<\/a> aren\u2019t a damsel in obtuse-rookie distress. This is a mess of Cincinnati\u2019s making, and one it doesn\u2019t deserve sympathy for.<\/p>\n

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The Bengals’ rookie has a reasonable request amid his contract holdout \u2013 the same treatment as his predecessors.<\/p>\n

\u201cCincinnati Bengals first-round pick Shemar Stewart remains unsigned by the team and isn\u2019t practicing with the team during the voluntary workout program due to a continued dispute over the language in his contract, a source told The Enquirer,\u201d Kelsey Conway reported<\/a>. \u201cHe won’t practice with the Bengals until his contract situation gets resolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cStewart is requesting that his contract language mirror the last two Bengals\u2019 first-round picks, both of which were selections after pick No. 17. Right tackle Amarius Mims (2024) was selected with the No. 18 overall pick and defensive end Myles Murphy (2023) was taken at pick No. 28, according to a source.\u201d<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t immediately clear what language Stewart is disputing, whether it be a matter of the bonus schedule or offset clauses. His salary and signing bonus, set by his draft position, are not part of that discussion.<\/p>\n

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Simply put, there isn\u2019t any real reason for the Bengals<\/a> to be so stingy. They\u2019ve clearly been willing to hand those contracts out before, and if anything, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson\u2019s uncertain future makes Stewart even more of a priority.<\/p>\n

For now, Cincinnati has remained confident in a deal getting done. Anything less would be untenable.<\/p>\n

“We expect that as other first-round draft picks get signed, this will get resolved,\u201d the team said, via Conway.<\/p>\n

This still isn\u2019t an issue fans have to panic over. Stewart has been in meetings and the weight room, only sitting out of practice drills.<\/p>\n

More than anything else, Stewart\u2019s absence is a symptom of ownership\u2019s sickness \u2013 an unnecessary wrench in Cincinnati\u2019s plans for success.<\/p>\n

Related: Should Bengals Fans Be Concerned About Shemar Stewart?<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Analyst Suggests NFC Contenders Trade for Bengals Star<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is overwhelmingly easy for Cincinnati Bengals fans to turn on first-round edge rusher Shemar Stewart. He\u2019s a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[2979,228,227,256,2296,7,4672,6,1496,1503],"class_list":{"0":"post-69638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-amarius-mims","9":"tag-bengals","10":"tag-cincinnati","11":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","12":"tag-cincinnatibengals","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-myles-murphy","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-shemar-stewart","17":"tag-trey-hendrickson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114550344514102075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}