The rookie hasn’t spoken kindly of the team, but not playing for them would come at a huge cost.
The Cincinnati Bengals and their first-round pick Shemar Stewart have been having an issue getting a deal done, and it has caused tensions to get high.
The Rookie started by simply not practicing but showing up for meetings. Then he publicly called out the franchise for “wanting to win arguments more than they want to win more games.” That obviously stepped a bit over a line from simple disagreement to possibly more. Then, Stewart skipped the final day of the minicamp altogether.
The question that comes up from sheer curiosity is simply, can Stewart avoid playing for Cincinnati?
The answer is yes, but it isn’t a route that is ideal for players.
For those wondering (and if it even gets to this extreme), Shemar Stewart can re-enter the 2026 draft, but he would have to sit out a year. This would make him eligible to be selected by any team other than CIN.
A year off for a pass rusher that needs development is not ideal. https://t.co/QU5152Ddjg
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) June 12, 2025
Per the NFL CBA, if he plays in an outside professional league (CFL, UFL, etc.), the Bengals would retain his rights for 3 years.
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) June 12, 2025
Quite simply, Stewart would have to stay away from football for an entire season. There are other less traditional routes, like potentially suing the NCAA to go back to college, to get around that, but the most direct route is sitting out an entire season.
Many already recognized that the Bengals took a shot on being able to develop Stewart when they drafted him. He only had 4.5 sacks in 37 games. He got plenty of pressure but couldn’t finish.
Sitting out a year isn’t going to look good for a prospect, and teams don’t generally view that kind of behavior favorably.
Not to mention, Stewart is set to make a $840,000 base salary this year, not including any signing bonus/guaranteed money he’d also get from his contract. If he didn’t get drafted in the first round next year, he wouldn’t have to worry about offset language because he wouldn’t have any guaranteed money on his deal.
The simple thing here is that Stewart would get the satisfaction of sticking it to the Bengals, but he would be turning down an insane amount of money and security that he’d be afforded even with the reported clause the Bengals are looking to add.
The only player to ever actually do this was Bo Jackson. He decided to never play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and instead go play baseball. Stewart not having that extra sport as an option to still make money while he waits doesn’t give him many realistic options.
