“Whatever the Bengals are doing with a first-round draft pick in an era where the rookie wage scale exists is unprofessional. Cincinnati and Shemar Stewart are at odds over interpretation of language in the contract that could affect Stewart's guaranteed money in his rookie deal, causing the first-round pick to hold out from minicamp.”

There is seemingly no end in sight to the Bengals' contract disputes with Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart.

In a wild turn of events, the Cincinnati Bengals might not have their first-round pick Shemar Stewart on the team for the entire 2025 NFL season.