Shemar Stewart's contract holdout with Bengals may be solved quicker with help from NFC team he'll play against this season
Shemar Stewart has yet to sign his rookie contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, which means he's still abstaining from practicing with the team that made him the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. According to Cincinnati.com's Kelsey Conway, Stewart wants the language in his contract to "mirror" the contracts Amarius Mims and Myles […]
Shemar Stewart has yet to sign his rookie contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, which means he's still abstaining from practicing with the team that made him the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
According to Cincinnati.com's Kelsey Conway, Stewart wants the language in his contract to "mirror" the contracts Amarius Mims and Myles Murphy signed as Cincinnati's most recent first-round selections.
Stewart is requesting that his contract language mirror the last two Bengals’ first-round picks, both of which were selections after pick No. 17. Right tackle Amarius Mims (2024) was selected with the No. 18 overall pick and defensive end Myles Murphy (2023) was taken at pick No. 28, according to a source.
Last week, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk reported Stewart's camp was concerned about the percentage of his contract being paid as a training-camp roster bonus and how the Bengals' offer was lower than what the Minnesota Vikings agreed to with Dallas Turner, last year's 17th pick in the draft.
Turner and the Vikings helped Cincinnati reach an agreement with Mims last year, and another NFC team may be able to do the same for the Bengals this time around.
Arizona Cardinals signing Walter Nolen may help Bengals sign Shemar Stewart
The wiggle room players and teams have regarding rookie contracts is a lot smaller compared to the days before the rookie wage scale was implemented with the 2011 collective bargaining agreement. Since Stewart was pick No. 17, his contract will be very similar to what the 18th pick and 16th pick signed for.
The 18th pick, Seattle Seahawks offensive linemen Grey Zabel, signed his contract last week and it featured the maximum amount of money put into this training-camp roster bonuses.
This is good leverage for Stewart in his plight to gain the best possible contract for himself, but the 16th pick also signing his deal would essentially force Cincinnati to comply as the meat in a contract sandwich between picks 16 and 18.
Defensive tackle Walter Nolen was drafted 16th overall by the Arizona Cardinals, the Bengals' Week 17 opponent on the 2025 schedule, one pick ahead of the Bengals. Nolen has yet to sign his deal, but is practicing with the Cardinals nonetheless.
When Nolen signs his deal, the Bengals will observe it to see if they can hold firm with their offer, or if they'll have to adjust to match the two contracts that bookend Stewart's draft spot. It's illogical to draft Stewart where he was and to not structure his contract the same as his direct peers.
It may take a new more weeks, or even months, but Nolen and the Cards should pave the way for the Bengals to get their own first-rounder under contract and officially practicing with the rest of the team.