Cincinnati Bengals first-round rookie Shemar Stewart left the facility on Thursday amid ongoing frustrations over his contract. He believes he has the support of the locker room, including the team’s stars.

Shemar Stewart’s Got the Backing of the Bengals’ Locker Room

The Bengals’ ongoing saga with their first-round pick has gotten way out of hand, with the rookie now having missed rookie minicamp, as well as both voluntary and mandatory OTAs.

Cincinnati is trying to force an uncommon clause into Stewart’s contract, which gives them better protection against guaranteed money should they need it in an extreme circumstance.

Stewart and his agent have stood firm against that idea, refusing to be the trial run for such a rare clause. According to NFL agents, it’s extremely uncommon to see it in a first-round pick’s deal, which is usually pretty clear-cut as a fully guaranteed contract.

A couple of other players are yet to sign their first-round deals, including second overall pick Travis Hunter with the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, his situation is very different. He’s been out there practicing and is enjoying life with his new team, knowing a deal is going to get done.

For Stewart, the risk of injury before anything is signed makes it impossible for him to practice. He has said that he is ‘100% right’ and that it would be so easy for the Bengals to simply remove that clause to get the contract signed, but they’re not willing to do so.

When asked if the veterans on the team had said anything about the situation, Stewart replied:

“It made it very easy when the people in the locker room said you’re doing the right things, especially the star players. Let’s put it that way.”

Shemar Stewart's teammates believe he's doing the right things 👀

"It's made it very easy when the people in your locker room say you're doing the right things, especially the star players."

– #Bengals rookie Shemar Stewart

Presented by @drinkgaragebeer https://t.co/dNqGqIumZ9 pic.twitter.com/V6QuzhZgVJ

— Enter the Jungle Show (@CinBengalsTalk) June 10, 2025

Stewart feels as though he has the backing of his teammates, who have all been through the process of signing their first contracts in the NFL. The rookie feels hard done by, considering the Bengals are using him as a crash dummy for this new version of the contract handed to a first-round pick.

If he were to sign it, it would set the tone for future first-rounders to have to do the same, not only with the Bengals but with other franchises around the league.

Some believe the NFL players’ association has also chimed in, as they won’t want that to become common practice among first-round draft picks who have had their rookie contracts fully guaranteed for some time now.

Cincinnati Bengals in Turmoil With Pass Rushers and Their Contracts

The whole situation with Stewart feels completely avoidable, especially considering the ongoing drama with All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson.

The 30-year-old has posted 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons, leading the NFL in the category for the 2024 campaign.

Off the back of that performance, Hendrickson believes he is due a new contract and has confirmed he will refuse to play on the current terms he is signed to. He is currently set to make $18.6 million for the season, while the likes of Myles Garrett just signed an extension with the Cleveland Browns for $40 million per year.

That situation isn’t close to being resolved, and if the Bengals end up trading Hendrickson, they’re going to need their first-round pass rusher to be ready to go.

Then, instead of giving Stewart a straightforward contract so that he could begin practicing, they opted to get cute with it, fraying the relationship between the franchise and their first-round pick before the season is even close to getting started.