The Cincinnati Bengals cheap personality is causing a whole of issues for their recently acquired rookies. While Shemar Stewart and Demetrius Knight Jr. are doing everything they’re supposed to do in showing up to rookie camp, the Bengals aren’t as they haven't signed them yet.
A few notes from Zac Taylor, who met with the media after the #Bengals rookie mini-camp field work this morning (they only do one day for one hour, rest is off the field).
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) May 9, 2025
- Shemar Stewart and Demetrius Knight Jr. watched on the side as the only two picks that haven’t yet…
It makes perfect sense to not pay the NFL’s sack leader from last season in Trey Hendrickson, draft his replacement and not pay him too. Not! What are the Bengals doing? They’re defense is miserable and they’ve done very little this offseason to address that.
They had to pay Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase and they brought back Mike Gesicki. The offense is fortified. This defense is going to cost Joe Burrow another shot at the MVP and furthermore, cost them a chance to be AFC contenders.
The Bengals can’t afford to keep stalling in contract negotiations with Stewart and Knight. They put way too much faith in the rookies to immediately impact this defense. They need to get their contracts figured out before they start holding out.
The Cincinnati Bengals are playing with fire as rookies show up to camp unsigned
Not sure what the hold up is, but the Bengals are playing with fire, not having Stewart or Knight signed yet going into rookie camp. Both players will play key roles with Hendrickson basically out the door and Germaine Pratt requesting a trade shortly after the NFL season ended.
Stewart and Knight literally fill both those gaps in the defense, but it means nothing if they aren’t signed yet. They addressed their two biggest needs with their first two picks, yet they haven’t officially made them team members yet.
The Bengals are realizing they can’t just lollygag when it comes to players’ contracts. Their lack of urgency with Hendrickson’s deal has essentially shut down any progress toward bringing him back. They waited entirely too long to get Higgins and Chase’s deal done. Now it’s affecting their rookies.
Cincinnati took a massive gamble in drafting Stewart. He had just 4.5 sacks in 37 games. When Hendrickson officially lands with a new team before this season, Stewart will have all the pressure to be an immediate impact.
His NFL.com draft profile suggests he’s not on an expedited plan to be an immediate impact. It suggests it will take him a few years before he’s a high-yield EDGE rusher. Which means the Bengals have to salvage what’s left of the Hendrickson situation.
More than that, they have to find common ground with their rookies so they can get to work. Stewart needs all the time he can to get to work and rapidly improve this defense. Not signing him going into rookie camp isn’t a good sign.
It looks like the Bengals haven’t learned from their offseason struggles of getting contracts figured out. Signing rookies should be the easiest signings, yet they’re still negotiating. The Bengals are only hurting themselves by not making things official with their rookies. Their defense is taking an even bigger hit because of it.