And finally, the Bengals of Cincinnati and their first draft selection buried the hatchet. Following stalemate for weeks and a season-long stalemate with the rookie, the Bengals and first-round draft selection Shemar Stewart agreed to a four-year rookie contract with full guarantees, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Friday.
The contract brings an end to a long stalemate that kept No. 17th overall NFL Draft 2025 draft selection Stewart off practice since he did not sign with the club. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that both sides made concessions to bring highly promoted edge rusher to uniform: Stewart made concessions to Bengals-favorite new deal terminology after they pushed, and Cincinnati made concessions to roll $500,000 of Stewart’s signing bonus to current season against December.
Who is Shemar Stewart?
Stewart, 21, was the premiere defensive end at Texas A&M and one of college football’s finest disruptive linemen. Formerly a five-star prospect out of Miami, Florida’s Monsignor Pace High School, Stewart was highly touted to be one of this year’s premiere edge prospects.
In his collegiate career he logged 4.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 65 total tackles, 1 forced fumble and encapsulated his blend of speed, strength, dominant run stopping ability and reach (6-foot-5, 270 pounds, with 34-inch arms). Through his first-step quickness and playside setting ability, he became a top-20 shoo-in in all draft boards, with evaluators speaking in terms of his “NFL-ready body” and “motor that doesn’t quit”
The Bengals drafted Stewart with the No. 17 pick in Day 1 of the draft in hopes he could provide a defense that ranked 25th in 2024 that failed to produce sustained pass-rush potential outside of pass-rush specialist Trey Hendrickson’s efforts. Cincinnati did not sign many high-level free agents to its defense this season, so this will likely mean they think Stewart will make a significant contribution coming out of the gate.
One Unusual Rookie Holdout
Despite all the fanfare, Stewart’s start with the team was delayed following a contract dispute that made headlines throughout the entire league.
Stewart did not attend minicamp, having to, OTs, and begin training camp with his agents and Bengals haggling guarantee structures—some type of wacky hold in this age of rookie wage scales. Stewart was in reality the only first-round pick unsigning to the 16th of July due to all of the other 31 rookies all signing without a hitch.
Unsigned rookies are not permitted to report to camp with their teams, so Stewart sat out and looked in from afar when the rookies reported on July 19. He did miss his first practice week, a rare experience with a team that prides itself in making rookies’ transitions smooth ones.
Looking Into the Future
Now that the deal is done, Stewart will practice and will start to make his mark in Lou Anarumo’s defense. Stewart will play catch up after missing the first three practices but will bring high-ceiling pass-rush ability that the Bengals will look to utilize early. Stewart will play in the rotation early with veterans Sam Hubbard and Myles Murphy but will have a path to more playing time throughout the season. The Bengals’ preseason schedule starts August 7th against the Eagles, and that will be the first opportunity that Stewart will have to show everyone why he was the Bengals’ first pick. And yet in spite of this Stewart issue resolved, there remains this titanic defensive X to be filled: last year’s leader in sacks Trey Hendrickson still wants his contract extension and/or trade and neither will budge with the regular season coming closer and closer. But for the moment, Cincinnati can all breathe together in relief that their number one rookie star will indeed be in the picture and ready to start his NFL career.