Why is it always the Cincinnati Bengals? In one of the most embarrassing storylines for the NFL this offseason, first-round pick Shemar Stewart has still yet to sign his rookie deal with Cincinnati. The Bengals used the No. 17 overall pick on the former Texas A&M edge rusher in the 2025 NFL Draft. He may have averaged 1.5 sacks during his three years in College Station, but the guy wants his money.
Nobody gives off the vibes of having less than the good ole, mom-and-pop shop Bengals. The only other team who has been this painfully cheap in recent years was the Los Angeles Chargers. I remember them messing with their star edge rusher Joey Bosa's money coming out of Ohio State. Then again, that was a decade ago and they were still in San Diego... Why is history repeating itself?
Bengals front office executive Duke Tobin made it abundantly clear on where he stands on the issue.
"He needs to be here. I would encourage him to be here ... He's listening to the advice he's paying for (from his agents). I don't under the advice ... We're treating him fairly."
Tobin and head coach Zac Taylor do not make enough money to put up with Mike Brown's nonsense.
#Bengals executive Duke Tobin on Shemar Stewart, who is still unsigned:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 21, 2025
"He needs to be here. I would encourage him to be here. ... He’s listening to the advice he’s paying for (from his agents). I don’t understand the advice … We’re treating him fairly.” pic.twitter.com/LAbmQiSS65
We have an unproductive former college football player who loves money going to a cheap franchise.
Duke Tobin carries Bengals' water for Mike Brown with Shemar Stewart
It is a powder keg of epic proportions. Outside of Bosa with the Chargers back in the day, when is the last time we really dealt with this in the NFL? There was a time where Bo Jackson said no thank you to playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He could play baseball, and did, before signing with the then-Los Angeles Raiders. Kelly Stouffer wanted nothing to do with the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1987...
We are talking about something potentially happening now that has not happened in nearly 40 years?! The worst part in all of this is the Bengals might be really good this fall. They still have Joe Burrow at quarterback and the wide receiver tandem of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins being the best in the league. Al Golden has returned to call the defense for Taylor. This might be a playoff team.
However, the Stewart stalemate and the Trey Hendrickson holdout have painted the Bengals in the worst light of any organization in the league right now. There may not be a bigger discrepancy in resources from where Stewart is coming from in college at Texas A&M to where he is being asked to work in the NFL for the miserly Bengals. Tobin is right that he will eventually sign, but why do all this?
No NFL franchise does a worse job of taking care of its homegrown players quite like the Bengals do.