After two straight 9-8 seasons that featured playoff misses, the Cincinnati Bengals are looking to rebound in 2025 and reach the postseason and beyond. The Bengals have made several offseason changes on defense, including drafting three defensive players in the NFL Draft, as well as improvements to their offensive line in hopes of providing better protection for quarterback Joe Burrow.
With their first round selection, the Bengals drafted Texas A&M EDGE rusher Shemar Stewart with the 17th pick in the NFL Draft. The Bengals are confident that the selection of Stewart can help their team improve on the defensive side next season. Recent team drama in Bengals minicamp, however, involving Stewart has caused concern in Cincinnati and delight among AFC North rivals.
Shemar Stewart leaves minicamp in protest over contract dispute
According to ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Stewart left mandatory minicamp on Thursday. Stewart has been attending Bengals team activities but without a signed contract, the team is also no longer asking for certain clauses.
Cincinnati’s unsigned first-round draft pick Shemar Stewart now has left mandatory minicamp, per source. Stewart had been attending team activities, but without a signed contract and with the Bengals asking for certain clauses, no longer. pic.twitter.com/qeo492Z6As
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 12, 2025
Stewart also hasn't participated in OTA's this offseason as a result of being an unsigned rookie player.
While the current drama in Cincinnati with Shemar Stewart is a cause for concern at the moment, the Bengals will likely have a rookie deal for him before the season starts. Negotiating a rookie contract is not a difficult task but with the way Bengals fans have viewed the current state of their franchise the last two seasons, anything is possible.
What happens if the Bengals are unable to sign Shemar Stewart?
Stewart can request a trade to a different NFL team, and that team can offer him a new contract. There is, however, a deadline for a team to sign Stewart to a rookie deal according to NFL rules. Stewart has to be signed to a team 30 days before the start of the NFL regular season.
Stewart also has the option to sit out and not play football in 2025 and re-enter his name in the 2026 NFL Draft. If this became the case, Stewart could be drafted again by any team except the Cincinnati Bengals.
How the Bengals dragging this out benefits their AFC North Rivals
As the Bengals continue to hold up signing Shemar Stewart to his rookie deal on hold, the teams that are benefiting the most from it happen to be Cincinnati's two bitter division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.
The Bengals have finished behind the Steelers and the Ravens in the AFC North in the last two seasons. Cincinnati has a combined record of 1-8 against both teams over the last two years. The biggest problem in the matchups against the Ravens, which featured no wins by the Bengals, was their defense. Not having Shemar Stewart next season will only continue to hurt the team in divisional matchups.