A bad look for the Bengals.
It may not be just one thing that’s keeping Shemar Stewart from signing his rookie deal after all.
On Monday, PFT’s Mike Florio reported on why Stewart is holding out, citing the percentage of compensation in future years to be paid as a training camp roster bonus as the main reason the Cincinnati Bengals have not signed their first-round rookie.
As we understand it, the talks bogged down regarding the percentage of compensation in future years to be paid as a training-camp roster bonus. The training-camp roster bonus has become a device for putting a sizable chunk of the player’s pay in his pockets in future years, early in the season. In this case, the numbers offered by the Bengals reflected a lower percentage than the 17th overall pick received in 2024. It’s a simple fix. Match or beat the percentage from 2024, and the deal gets done. And Stewart shows up.
However, it appears there’s another reason why Stewart is holding out.
According to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the injury protection part of Stewart’s contract is another reason why he’s holding out and skipping rookie minicamp.
There’s also the injury protection portion of this equation as well. A source told The Enquirer if the team offered a more protected participation agreement, Stewart would be willing to practice while negotiations of his deal ensued. And this is why it is unrealistic to expect Stewart to participate in any of the voluntary practices until the two sides come to an agreement on either the full contract or more protection in the participation agreement.
There’s also this from MLFootball on the Bengals supposedly not fully protecting its rookies in the event of an injury, which is why second-round pick Demetrius Knight is also holding out (though this should be taken with a grain of salt considering the source).
EXCLUSIVE: #Bengals 2nd-round LB Demetrius Knight II is not participating in drills because Cincinnati’s rookie waiver, unlike those of the other 31 #NFL teams, does not fully protect players, team sources tell @_MLFootball.
All NFL teams use waivers to protect unsigned… pic.twitter.com/I98cBTgJf6
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 11, 2025
If the Bengals really are squabbling over injury protections and when a player gets his paycheck, it’s easy to see why this ownership and front office gets ridiculed as being one of the NFL’s most archaic groups.
