ClutchPoints
Shemar Stewart, the Cincinnati Bengals’ first-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, is not practicing on the first day of mandatory minicamp, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway.
Stewart, whom the Bengals drafted 17th overall a few months ago, had not signed a contract with Cincinnati by this morning and thus would not practice. As the 17th pick, Stewart’s rookie-scale contract value is $18,942,634 over four years.
A 6-foot-5-inch edge rusher, Stewart played three seasons at Texas A&M, where he never earned more than 1.5 sacks in a season. Despite this, he was a highly thought-of prospect, in large part due to his size and speed. The 21-year-old ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and had vertical and broad jumps of 40 inches and 10 feet, 11 inches, respectively.
Some fans and analysts suspected the Bengals drafted Stewart with the 17th pick to replace, either in the short or long term, Trey Hendrickson. A four-time Pro Bowler and 2024 first-team All-Pro selection, Hendrickson will turn 31 years old late this season and, possibly more importantly, has just one year left on his deal. Hendrickson, who has expressed dissatisfaction with the team during contract extension negotiations, is also sitting out the first day of minicamp.
Hendrickson is set to make $16 million this season (and carry a cap hit of $18.7 million) before becoming an unrestricted free agent next offseason. He and the Bengals have been engaged in negotiations for months now, but they have not only not resulted in a deal, but Hendrickson said last month that “offers prior to the draft did not reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason if I continued to play at a high level” and that he had not heard from the team at all following the draft.
Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks last season, outpacing second-place Myles Garrett by 3.5 sacks. Garrett notably signed a four-year, $160 million extension this offseason, making him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
The post Why Bengals’ 1st-round pick isn’t practicing at mandatory minicamp appeared first on ClutchPoints.
