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While Trey Hendrickson has still yet to be paid, first-round pick Shemar Stewart remains a holdout due to a rookie contract dispute.
The reason behind Stewart’s holdout revolves around the language within his deal, but Cincinnati Bengals executive Duke Tobin made himself quite clear about how he feels heading into the start of training camp.
“I think Shemar needs to be here,” Tobin told reporters. “I’m not going to blame Shemar. He is listening to the advice he is paying for. I don’t understand or believe or agree with the advice, but I’m 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’s draft, then maybe it would be a different story. But we are not. I don’t really understand where things are there.”
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The Cincinnati Bengals 2025 draft pick Shemar Stewart. (IMAGN)
Stewart, the 17th overall pick back in April, left the final day of mandatory minicamp, where he wasn’t participating in on-field workouts, due to his rookie contract not being signed.
The Texas A&M product said that he didn’t want to be a distraction to his teammates while his contract dispute was ongoing.
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“I’m 100% right,” he told reporters at minicamp regarding his contract. “I’m not asking for nothing y’all (the Bengals) have never done before. But in y’all case, y’all just want to win arguments (more) than winning more games.”
The Bengals are reportedly trying to change the way their first-round rookie contracts are done, which would allow the team to void future guarantees. Stewart doesn’t feel his contract language needs to be different, with Pro Football Talk pointing out Amarius Mims, the team’s first-round pick last year, not having that language in his deal.
Stewart was a higher pick than Mims as well.
Cincinnati Bengals first-round draft pick Shemar Stewart speaks during a press conference on Friday, April 25, 2025 at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. (IMAGN)
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he had “good communication” with Stewart before leaving camp.
Bengals owner Mike Brown commented on the situation as well, calling Stewart’s situation “a very peculiar thing.”
“It’s not about money. It’s about the guarantee in the case of if he were to do something contrary to the discipline levels of the league,” Brown said to reporters. “I don’t think that’s going to happen ever. That’s what’s holding it up. It’s never happened as long as I can remember.
“His agent wants it to be if he acted in a terrible fashion – this is all hypothetical – something that rises to the level of going to prison, we’d be on the line for the guarantee.
Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart looks on during the Bengals rookie mini camp on Friday, May 9, 2025 at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. (IMAGN)
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“If we get a player who does something unacceptable, guess what? I don’t want to pay him.”
Bengals training camp begins on July 23.
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