Hopefully, things don’t go this far into training camp.
All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith has been a thorn in the Cincinnati Bengals’ side since the Baltimore Ravens acquired him during the 2022 season.
Before that, he was a member of the Chicago Bears, who selected him with the No. 8 overall selection of the 2018 NFL Draft.
The only reason that’s relevant to the Bengals now is because, as CBS Sports’ Joel Corry pointed out, he was the last guy to hold out due to similar language added to his contract, and he missed two weeks of training camp.
“Disputes over this type of language with rookie contracts are rare,” Corry, a former sports agent, wrote. “The last one occurred in 2018 with linebacker Roquan Smith, the eighth overall pick. Smith missed the first two weeks of training camp because he and his agents objected to language where the Chicago Bears had the right to void his guarantees for an ejection or suspension from a game for violating NFL playing rules. A compromise was reached on the number of games in a suspension necessary to trigger voiding.”
Like the Bears, the Bengals added language to Stewart’s contract that could void guarantees if certain scenarios, like suspensions or off-field issues, were to take place.
Many other teams, including those that had the pick before and after the Bengals, have language similar to this in their contracts. The issue in the Bengals’ case is that they didn’t have that language last year when they used the No. 18 overall selection on Amarius Mims.
Stewart is their guinea pig, and he’s made it very clear he doesn’t want to be. Corry doesn’t blame him either.
“Stewart’s camp is right on principle,” he wrote. “It’s unclear why the Bengals decided to try to institute the language change with Stewart. Compounding matters for the Bengals is the contract stalemate with Pro Bowl edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. Stewart was drafted to replace Sam Hubbard, who retired during the offseason, as a pass rusher.”
With Hendrickson still holding out, getting Stewart on the field, after he missed OTAs, is paramount to the team’s defensive game plan in 2025.
