1 year ago
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Ben BabyJul 25, 2025, 07:09 PM ET
- Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the institution successful July 2019. Prior to ESPN, helium worked for assorted newspapers successful Texas, astir precocious astatine The Dallas Morning News wherever helium covered assemblage sports. He provides regular sum of the Bengals for ESPN.com, portion making appearances connected SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A autochthonal of Grapevine, Texas, helium graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's grade successful journalism. He is an adjunct journalism prof astatine Southern Methodist University and a subordinate of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
CINCINNATI -- Shemar Stewart and the Bengals person agreed to presumption connected his rookie contract, his agent, Zac Hiller of LAA, said Friday, arsenic helium becomes the last first-round draught prime to person signed.
Stewart volition ink a four-year, afloat guaranteed declaration worthy $18.97 million, including a $10.4M signing bonus, Hiller told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The 17th prime successful this year's draft, Stewart is present acceptable to articulation the Bengals six days aft the team's rookies reported for grooming camp. Friday's statement ends a saga that started soon aft Cincinnati drafted the erstwhile Texas A&M product. Stewart did not enactment successful immoderate of the team's offseason workouts and was absent during the archetypal week of campy due to the fact that of a disagreement implicit connection that could perchance void the guaranteed wealth successful the contract.
The 2 sides compromised successful bid to get the woody finalized. Stewart volition person a much lucrative payout operation than erstwhile picks astatine No. 17 successful speech for accepting the caller connection the Bengals placed successful the team's rookie contracts.
Earlier successful the week, squad president Mike Brown elaborate the grade to which the void connection could travel into play.
"I conjecture if helium did thing that truly deserved punishment that helium would privation the full declaration guaranteed and we would privation to say, good it isn't guaranteed if you did thing to that level," Brown said Monday. "In that case, we would measurement successful and instrumentality distant the guarantee.
"Doesn't mean that we couldn't hold to wage it, but we wouldn't beryllium forced to wage it. I don't privation to wage idiosyncratic who hypothetically could beryllium successful jailhouse for 4 years astatine this level of pay."
Bengals manager of subordinate unit Duke Tobin said helium believed the Bengals were 1 of the past teams to insert specified connection into their rookie contracts.
Cincinnati's different 5 draught picks signed successful clip for the commencement of the team's archetypal signifier Wednesday. Linebacker Demetrius Knight, the team's second-round pick, finalized his woody past Saturday.
Stewart was not the archetypal subordinate to person a delayed starting play due to the fact that of a quality implicit his rookie deal. In 2018, linebacker Roquan Smith missed aggregate weeks of grooming campy due to the fact that of a akin quality implicit void connection successful his rookie woody with the Chicago Bears.
During the Bengals' offseason workouts, Stewart did not motion the team's information waiver portion helium tried to hammer retired a woody that was troubled from the beginning. According to a root acquainted with the negotiations, Stewart was initially offered a lowered grooming campy roster bonus than Amarius Mims, contempt being drafted 1 slot higher than Mims was successful 2024.
The Bengals inactive person 1 outstanding declaration concern remaining.
Defensive extremity Trey Hendrickson has not reported to campy arsenic helium hopes to get a caller contract. He is entering the last twelvemonth of his existent woody and is acceptable to marque conscionable $16 cardinal contempt coming disconnected an All-Pro season.
