The former Texas A&M defensive end went as far as to say the Cincinnati organization cares more about winning an argument than winning games. At the time, he was still hopeful he could sign his contract and get on the field for the last two days of minicamp.
Up until Thursday, Stewart had been at least attending meetings and watching practices, but for the team’s final day of the offseason workout program, the Bengals were without their No. 17 overall pick and NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson, who says he won’t play on his current deal. Stewart said he doesn’t plan to practice until he signs his contract.
“I think there’s education that happens with all the rookies, that we do our best to educate them,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said when asked his reaction to Stewart expressing frustration with the organization Tuesday. “No. 1, we want to protect our team, our locker room. And so, there’s some things I understand when there’s frustration there, but that’s how he chose to do it, and that’s his prerogative, and we look forward to getting him back in the fold.”
Other unsigned draft picks, including second-round pick Demetrius Knight Jr. and players on different teams, signed waivers and still practiced.
Taylor remained reserve in his comments regarding the situation Thursday but said he spoke with Stewart before he left camp and the two have had “positive conversations.” Taylor credited the players for how they have managed the potential distraction.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Bengals center Ted Karras said it’s more of a distraction for fans than the players. He brings unique perspective to the situation as the team’s NFL Players Association representative but said everyone can agree it’s “unfortunate.”
“I mean, obviously again, like I’ve said, I mean it’s not the best-case scenario of how the spring could have gone for our first-round pick, but there is a pretty serious business aspect to our profession and he’s taking counsel from his camp,” Karras said. “And the main thing I want to say is, to either of our defensive ends, that there’s not any harboring resentment in this locker room to them. I really hope that both camps can figure this out because we have a really good team. We’ve had a super productive spring and you just don’t want this to carry over into summer.”
From a Players Association perspective, Karras said it’s best to avoid language and contracts that are “going to be negative to players as far as guaranteed money.” The goal is to always maximize the amount of guarantees a player can get.
Karras said he feels for Stewart that this situation has been his first experience in the NFL, especially with the hate he might be seeing from fans on the internet because “Cincy Twitter doesn’t mess around.”
A common response from fans on social media is that Stewart hasn’t done anything in the league yet to earn the right to skip practice or the benefit of a doubt when he has decided not to participate.
“I think anyone in any position, any job, when it’s that much money, things get very serious,” Karras said. “So, I don’t know if it’s about ‘earning the right.’ No, I don’t think there’s anything about earning the right. I think there’s just a lot of money at stake and I just hope that we can resolve this, get him back on track and have a great career in stripes.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Bengals now break for the next six weeks leading up to the start of training camp July 23. Stewart said Tuesday “it’s very important” for him to be on the field for training camp, but won’t do it until he feels comfortable signing his contract.
Last year, right tackle Amarius Mims, the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 draft, did not sign his deal until July 22 -- right before camp, but Mims still participated throughout the offseason. He ended up starting 13 games.
Taylor said there is precedent for rookies not participating in an offseason workout program and still being ready for training camp and the regular season. In 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, no one had an offseason program.
“I think for all the rookies, you’d like them to be on the field, but certainly there’s things that happen (over the course of an NFL) career, and this is one of them right now,” Taylor said. “So he’s been in the meetings, he’s been positive, and we look forward to getting (him) back on the field.”
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