Shemar Stewart has yet to take the field in spring practices, and he remains unsigned at this point. The first-round Bengals rookie had remained with the team up to this point, but that changed on Thursday. 
Stewart departed the Bengals this morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Team and player remain engaged in a stalemate stemming from certain clauses in his rookie contract. Stewart has yet to sign his pact, one which the Bengals are attempting to differentiate from that of recent Day 1 selections Myles Murphy and Amarius Mims.
Specifically, Cincinnati’s stance that a default at any point of the contract will automatically void the remainder of the pact has become a public point of contention in this situation. Stewart attended the first two days of minicamp while remaining sidelined, drawing praise from his teammates for taking a stand against the team’s proposed contract structure. With it becoming clear no resolution would be coming in the immediate future, Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes Stewart’s departure was aimed at not creating a further distraction.
Thursday marks the third and final day of minicamp and thus the last practice session before training camp next month. No major team meetings or other events will be missed as a result of Stewart’s absence (h/t Sports Illustrated’s Jay Morrison). The Texas A&M product’s attention will remain focused on trying to leverage a deal congruent with those Murphy and Mims received, although he has limited leverage in doing so.
Nonetheless, today’s news means both Stewart and fellow edge rusher Trey Hendrickson will have missed all on-field work during OTAs and minicamp. The latter is angling for an extension after posting a second straight 17.5-sack season. Hendrickson is owed $16MM in the final year of his deal (whereas the top of the EDGE market now sits at $40MM annually) and has threatened to hold out into the regular season absent an extension. Such a development would place increased importance on Stewart, but this year’s No. 17 pick has yet to take any reps so far.
“I think for all the rookies, you’d like them to be on the field,” head coach Zac Taylor said of the Stewart situation (via Pro Football Talks’ Myles Simmons). “But certainly, there’s things that happen over the course of an NFL career and this is one of them right now. So, he’s been in the meetings, he’s been positive that way. He’s been a good learner. And we look forward to getting him back on the field quickly.”
Taylor declined to offer any predictions on when an agreement will be struck with Stewart. Plenty of time remains until training camp, though, meaning this standoff could continue for at least another several weeks.
One of the worst organizations in all of football. Wonder why they never get top free agents?
No accountability for the player whos yet to even take an NFL snap?
Why should Stewart accept a worse contract than their previous two first round picks, both of whom were taken at lower picks?
Begamin no accountability for the franchise that has a history of being cheap and stingy and hasn’t ever won anything of relevance? Maybe you should be asking why they can’t simply model the behavior of consistently successful franchises like the Eagles, Steelers, Packers, 49ers, Ravens, Chiefs, etc
I don’t think I’d put the Steelers up there….unless this is 2016.
They are consistently over ,500 EVERY year.
That’s not nothing…..
Oh you sound fun. Obviously you think he should just be thrilled to get paid to play a game. Interesting take. I’m guessing then that if you had a job you’d be happy to take less than other employees in your same position and same experience. What a swell guy.
if the “other employees” were there longer and had more experience, and they were making 15 million, and they wanted to start me out at 10 million, I would be pretty happy.
lol but that’s not what’s happening here, so you’re still wrong. they’re trying to add clauses they didn’t put into the last two first round pick contracts. he’s not comparing himself to any veteran deals.
Bengamin, you really want to side with the stingy billionaires instead of the kid just trying to get his first real taste of money?
Side with the player. He only played 8 games in college and he has a history of injury.
If he’s that bad, they shouldn’t have drafted him and allowed another team to draft him and pay him appropriately.
Then don’t draft him in the first.
The money is guaranteed for all rookies. That locked in when he was drafted and the amount can’t change.
What they’re trying to do is set a precedent for future rookie contracts to be voidable.
This is a cheap billionaire family looking to be even cheaper. You should be ashamed of defending billionaires who INHERITED everything they own.
I get the feeling Bengamin’s last name is Brown.
One of the worst. they just signed a quarterback and three wide receivers to max contracts and we’re in the Super Bowl three years ago. Obviously you don’t study what’s going on around the NFL or you’re just a troll and you’re a fan of the Carolina Panthers
1) It doesn’t take good organizational management to have the number one pick in a year that happens to have a superstar quarterback prospect in it or the number six pick in a year when you get to choose between two hall of fame caliber talents. 2) This isn’t the NBA. There is no such thing as a max contract. And Higgins is 19th in guaranteed money among receivers. 3) Who is this third receiver you’re imagining they just paid?
I am pretty sure he meant the QB plus the two WR contracts equals three max deals…
The writing led to some easily misunderstood interpretations. I read it wrong myself, too..
As far as the Bengals go, idk they just seem like winning a championship is not the owner’s number one priority…
You read it the way he wrote it. “[T]hey just signed a quarterback and three wide receivers to max contracts.” That’s four players.
That’s nonsense … do you even know what it’s about or are you just running your mouth. I don’t blame the Bengals for what they are doing with Stewart. 28 other teams in the league do the same thing.
This is all hung up over a clause that the Bengals want to put in the contract ( same clause the vast majority of the league already have ) that states … if you are suspended by the league for any reason ( criminal , PED) than your guarantees are void.
Now I’m not crazy about the draft pick anyway but I see nothing wrong with the Bengals doing this. He either needs to sign it or sit out.
So…Hendrickson has a contract for this year, and because the Bengals won’t or haven’t offered him an extension that is acceptable, he’s willing to sit out the year or hope for a trade…….once again, a contract isn’t a contract any longer…regardless of its length by the way….no doubt that he’s had two really good back to back seasons, but he and his camp are seeming to bank on the fact that its highly probably that his stats will fall off somewhere in any extension which is why he’s asking for it…..maybe the club can offer some front loaded deal with club ability to cut him and not pay him if he gets hurt or his production really falls of in the future……
This is the NFL, contracts are torn up, contracts are renegotiated.
Players in the NFL have little leverage bc of no guaranteed contracts, holding out is their best tactic.
Dont hate the player, hate the game. If Henrickson did not perform, he would be cut, no questions asked and Bengal fans would be praising the move.
Since there are no billionaires on this board, stop supporting rich people, support the players who are closer to you than Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or even the Orange fat man in the white house.
Why people support corporations, billionaires and politicians over regular people is just beyond me.
BTW Bengals are already done. They wont be winning anything this season.
Laughable organization. Just utterly hilarious
Isn’t there quarterback and three wide receivers given max contracts? Maybe I’m thinking of the wrong Bengals who went to the Super Bowl three years ago. Fill me in because I must be confused. Must’ve been in a coma and dreamed that.
“Their” QB and receivers “were” not. Max contracts don’t exist. They are only paying two WRs big money. This is the team that can’t consistently make the playoffs despite having an all-time great QB who they were lucky came out the year they had the first pick (which they got by losing more games than any other team that year).
A broken clock is right twice a day.
Bengals are the new Cincinnati Reds with Marge Schott.
LOL, keep paying them Bob.
The Bungles are like that friend who self sabotages every healthy relationship they’ve ever been in then complains they’re still unmarried.
How many other 1st rounders have yet to sign?
I believe Hunter is the only other one.
There 4 other first round rookies that haven’t signed including Hunter.
Stewart is a bum and needs to get on the field. He is in fact asking for more than their previous first round picks. You’re a rookie you don’t have a leg to stand on here. It’s an inauspicious start to his career for sure.
Quite the opposite. The team is trying to make the contract extremely risky for him. They added language to try and make his deal void in unusual ways, it’s very much about them legally looking for always to not have to pay his entire contract, which is pre-set in terms of overall guaranteed money.
You are correct that is my mistake. I thought he was asking for more money.
He’s not asking for more money (that’s pre-set by the league), but equal terms to the team’s last two first round picks. It has to do with when they’re paid. Do a little research before posting.
You do realize that draft picks are all slotted based on where in the pecking order they are picked?
This isn’t an amount issue. This is about the Bengals having ways to get out from under the contract if they are unhappy. Break a team rule? Sorry, you forfeit your guaranteed money.
This is a cheap franchise showing its stripes. The Brown family are awful people whose wealth solely exists thanks to these players giving up their bodies for our entertainment.
A thing very few people are talking about: if Stewart caves here, future picks will be given the same lack of protections. Bengals picks, sure, but every team in the league will pull these shenanigans with guys drafted in the future. He isn’t just holding the line for him; he’s holding the line for future picks, which is why every veteran in the locker room has backed him. This is where the precedent is – if the Bengals can get away with this and he signs, that hurts every drafted player.
Absolutely. This is more of a union thing than a Stewart thing. But it’s embarassing that the Bengals keep doing this crap. You can’t walk back contract precedent without a damn good reason.
The Bengals’ financial approach has to be hurting their free market options. What player would choose to go there knowing the team is looking for every excsues to shaft them on the next (or current) contract?
Disgusting behavior from a team looking at playing word games with guaranteed money. NFL contracts are already structured that AAV is mostly marketing and guaranteed money is what most players target.
Yes, the Bengals are frugal, not cheap. This clown Shemar Stewart wasn’t even considered first round prospect by most teams. The Bengals took a chance and this is how he repays their willingness to overlook his LACK of production during four years in college? Yeah, that’s what I want to do, piss off your boss and coaches. He hasn’t done a d**n thing in the league except stand around in street clothes looking like a idiot. Even during team pics when he put on the uniform he curled his lips like it was distasteful. Can’t wait until this punk gets his welcome to the NFL moment.
As far as Hendrickson the Bengals are covering their ass. How many times have we seen somebody hold out then sign and get hurt 3 games later. Just happened last year with Aiyuk. Trey is older and doesn’t warrant a 3-5 year contract at 40 million per. If he sits he’s going to get rusty and be another year older. How big a payday will he get them ?Sign a 2 year deal for 32 and play.
Sounds like your issue is with the stupid people who drafted a non-first round player in the first round, rather than the player himself?
Bengals wouldn’t be in these positions with Stewart and Henrickson if they didn’t have the dumbest FO in Football. It’s nothing else.
My issue is ,if you want to be a football player then sign the contract, if you don’t then go use the degree you earned in college and get a real job and go on with your life. This kid has done nothing,yet he wants a to be paid even if he does something stupid and hurts himself outside of football. I can see the Bengals point, why should they pay him if he gets hurt doing something on his own time? Trey on the other hand needs to be reasonable. He’s older and the Bengals don’t want to pay him 40 million a year. Why should he make more than Chase and/or Higgins? Yay, 17 sacks. You led the NFL one year. TJ Watt led the league 3 out of the last 5. He makes 30 million a year. These guys should look back and learn from Carson Palmer. Players never win a staring contest with Mike Brown. Who cares if Trey sits out, or Shemar doesn’t sign, life goes on. It’s Mike Brown’s team, not ours, and there may be underlying reasons for both non-signings that we don’t know about.
So its acceptable to lose out on a first round pick bc of a contract dispute that NO other player has in their standard NFL contract?
You Bengal fans want to die on that hill?
Stewart cannot cave, the NFLPA will not let him cave. Sorry Man What Runs…, you are wrong and as a Bengal fan will suffer. Bengal ownership does not care about winning, they care about taking your money, which they already have by your post.
Where is the NFL players union? Shouldn’t they be taking a stance here? The Bengals are 100% in the wrong here and should be held accountable for their actions.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think he’s in the players union until he signs the contract, which is probably why the union is not involved.
Who do you think advised him to leave camp? NFLPA.
I disagree with all you Stewart lovers. I have too side with the cinch organization,Stewart got to be the dumbest person that was put on earth. Here’s a kid going to make 40+ million for 4 years and he wants to hold out,hey Stewart why don’t you go out and dig some ditches to make a living. When you got drafted you hit the lottery it’s life changing you must not know how much money you are passing up kid. If you don’t sign and wait for the next draft you won’t be a round 1 draft pick you labeling yourself as a DISRUPTOR .what are you going to be in the clubhouse a CANCER.
I can guarantee that 100% of his teammates are siding with him, which would nullify your “disruptor” and “cancer” label. Stewart is not holding out for something no one else has gotten. He’s holding out for the contract language they’ve routinely used before. Big difference.
Yeah just accept whatever rich people give you, dont negotiate, just be happy that some guy named RJ167 has no idea how unions work.
Embarrassing organization