Winning the deal is priority No. 1 for the Bengals.
Things are getting heated between the Cincinnati Bengals and first-round pick Shemar Stewart.
As Stewart continues to hold out of offseason workouts due to a dispute in his contract language, the former Texas A&M defender is now making this a public dispute.
Following Tuesday’s minicamp practice, Stewart voiced his displeasure with the Bengals, echoing a message we’ve heard far too often about this ownership and front office.
“I’m 100% right. I’m not asking for nothing y’all (Bengals) have never done before. But in y’all’s case, y’all just want to win arguments (more) than winning more games,” said Stewart.
That’s the sad reality we’re in with Mike Brown and Co. Winning the contract is more important than winning games. Saving money is more important than going all-in during a Super Bowl window, and this has been yet another offseason full of such reminders.
We rarely see first-round picks get into heated public discussions regarding their rookie contracts, which the CBA structures in a way that makes it quite difficult for teams to screw up…but alas, here we are in June with no resolution in sight.
Let’s hope this gets resolved before training camp.
“I can’t say what I really want to say, it’s ‘their contract…I thought I’d be on the field by now.'”
Shemar Stewart on his Rookie contract negotiations.#Bengals @WCPO pic.twitter.com/55phizO7gS
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) June 10, 2025