At long last, the stalemate between the Cincinnati Bengals and their first-round pick has come to an end.
The Bengals and Shemar Stewart have agreed to terms on the defensive end's fully-guaranteed four-year rookie contract, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Friday. Cincinnati announced Stewart's signing on Saturday.
The news ends a protracted standoff between Cincinnati and the No. 17 pick in this year's draft, which saw Stewart miss the first week of training camp due to disagreements over guarantee language in the deal.
To get the first-round pick on the field for camp, both sides made concessions, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, detailing that Stewart agreed to the team's new contract language, while Cincy agreed to move up $500K of Stewart's signing bonus to be paid now rather than in December.
Cincinnati drafted Stewart on Day 1 of the draft in an effort to shore up a defense that ranked 25th overall in 2024 and saw few significant free agency additions made. But it quickly became clear that the Bengals had a contract dispute on their hands when Stewart did not practice during mandatory minicamp and spoke out over the impasse.
The disagreement kept Stewart off the field for the entirety of OTAs and minicamp, and prevented him from reporting to training camp with his fellow rookies on July 19, as unsigned players cannot join camp. It was an unprecedented delay, as draft signing, especially those in the first round, generally follow a consistent pattern and go smoothly, as evidenced by the other 31 picks all inking their deals by July 16.
But now, the long wait is over and Stewart is free to join his teammates on the field, signed rookie deal in hand. He missed the first three practices for his team, but will attempt to jump right in and catch up with the preseason set to kick off Aug. 7 against the Eagles.
Now all that's left for the Bengals is to resolve the other standoff on their defense, with reigning sack leader Trey Hendrickson refusing to play without an extension or trade, and neither side appearing to budge with the season drawing ever closer.
