With training camp about a month away, one analyst is questioning the Cincinnati Bengals and their handling of 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart. Fans watch the NFL because they love the game.
Players play for that love too, but also for the paycheck. Pro football is a business, and the monetary magnitude of contracts has changed the game. Now more than ever, players are willing to stand up to the front office if they feel something is unfair or doesn’t benefit them.
Cincinnati Bengals Derided for Rookie DE Shemar Stewart Contract Issues
During their 57-year NFL run, the Bengals have reached three Super Bowls and lost all three. Still, hope in Cincinnati has persisted through rough patches, including three separate stretches of three straight 10-loss seasons (1978 to 1980, 1991 to 1994, and 1998 to 2002). Since drafting Joe Burrow in 2020, the team is 44-38 in the regular season with two playoff appearances and one Super Bowl trip.
For years, the Bengals’ front office earned a reputation for being cheap and cutting corners wherever possible. That includes limiting players’ access to team-purchased Gatorade. Winning dulled that criticism, but now they’re facing a tough climb back to the playoffs.
Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Stewart, the team’s 2025 first-round pick, still hasn’t signed his rookie deal. He’s reportedly holding out until the team removes contract language that would let them void future guarantees. ESPN analyst and former NFL defensive back Domonique Foxworth questioned how the Bengals front office plans to handle the situation.
“And quibbling with their first-round draft pick over a nonsense clause in his contract. Seems like a team not serious about winning a championship. I think the players recognize it. I think a player like Joe Burrow, who’s been very active in talking about roster decisions they should make. They’re a team that starts notoriously slow. You’re not helping yourself by not having your best players in camp.”
Foxworth was also referring to edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who is holding out for a new contract. Hendrickson has racked up 35 sacks over the past two seasons. With one year left on his current deal, he feels the Bengals should pay him accordingly.
With Stewart and Hendrickson not in the mix, 2021 third-rounder Joseph Ossai and 2023 first-rounder Myles Murphy are sitting atop the depth chart. But if the team had full confidence in either of them, they probably wouldn’t have drafted Stewart.
That leaves the Bengals at odds with their expected starting edge rushers. If either situation drags into training camp, it could derail the season before it even begins. The Bengals need to act fast to bring in both players. The question is whether they’ll come to the table with a plan, or watch the season unravel before it starts.