Bengals Still Like First-Round Pick Shemar Stewart Despite Leaving Minicamp

Cincinnati Bengals rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart left the Bengals’ mandatory minicamp amid a contract dispute.

The Bengals’ first-round draft selection did not participate in any of the team’s offseason workouts. According to a source, the dispute is centered on the interpretation of language in the contract that could affect guaranteed money.

“He wasn’t here today, so we just focused on the guys that were here,” coach Zach Taylor said after the Bengals completed their three-day minicamp.

Taylor had mixed comments regarding the former Texas A&M star.

The seventh-year coach said he has had “positive conversations” with Stewart amid the dispute, adding that Stewart attended meetings, has been positive in that aspect of his approach and has done a good job of learning ahead of the upcoming season.

“For all the rookies, you’d like them to be on the field,” Taylor said. “But certainly there’s things that happen over the course of an NFL career, and this is one of them right now.”

Taylor indicated, however, that he wasn’t particularly happy with Stewart’s comments earlier this week.

When asked by ESPN about how long he thought the contract dispute might last, Stewart indicated that he isn’t seeking anything different or unique from previous Bengals draft picks.

“In my case, I’m 100 percent right,” Stewart said. “I’m not asking for nothing that’s never been done before. But in [the team’s] case, y’all just want to win an argument instead of winning more games, in my opinion.”

“Number one, we want to protect our team in our locker room,” Taylor said. “I understand when there’s frustration there. That’s how he chose to do it, and that’s his prerogative. And we look forward to getting him back in the fold.”

Stewart isn’t the only Bengals pass rusher trying to sort out a new contract.

Star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, a four-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro selection last season, skipped the entire mandatory minicamp as he seeks a long-term contract extension. He has stated that he has no intention of playing out the final year of his current contract.

“The main thing I want to say is I don’t think, to either of our defensive ends, that there’s not any harboring resentment in this locker room to them,” Bengals center Ted Karras said to the media. “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 the summer.”

Still, this week the team remains high on Stewart. “It’s a lesson for him in the NFL – control what you can control,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “From our standpoint, he’s done a good job in terms of the learning. We are as excited as anybody to get him out there.”