Is Shemar holding out?

[RunKijanaRun]

(Yesterday, 03:24 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: im not saying i agree with everything he has done but i think it  is a leap that some say he does not want to play for bengals and ive read nothing to support that is all. 

The Bungles might be the only team that would have taken him with a FRP.

So he’s not going to have a lot of trade value even if we could trade him.

[coachmcneil71]

(Yesterday, 03:24 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: im not saying i agree with everything he has done but i think it  is a leap that some say he does not want to play for bengals and ive read nothing to support that is all. 

Tbh, I think this is a lot of it. He doesn't want to be in Cincy at all, and A&M has already made him wealthy. 

[Destro]

His demeanor after being drafted was off putting.

[NUGDUKWE]

(Yesterday, 11:19 AM)bfine32 Wrote: So he's saying I'll sign a contract that states you can part ways with me if I pull a "Judkins", but you have to pay me first? Why put the language in then? 

Well perhaps im misunderstanding and that very well could be. But im assuming there is more guaranteed money that would be defaulted than just the signing bonus correct? Its basically the Bengals want to break theyre norm in way that could put him more at risk but not break theyre norm to give him a positive. 

[Nepa]

This is already hurting both the Bengals and Shemar. He really needs the practice, as he's far from a finished product. And the Bengals really need a DE.

I doubt that the Bengals will give in. This is like going back before the rookie wage scale, when there seemed to be holdouts for the Bengals each year, and they were more than willing to be the one team to draw the line. If Shemar and his agent doesn't see this, and they think the Bengals will give in to an unproven rookie, then I don't think they are very educated on the Bengals MO.

[XsandOs]

(Yesterday, 06:19 PM)Destro Wrote: His demeanor after being drafted was off putting.

There is a possibility that he was expecting the Jets to draft him at #7. He wore that green outfit because of it - not because the draft was at Green Bay. Jets spent alot of time with him pre-draft.

His demeanor of disappointment during the draft can be viewed within the context of a draftee being played for a fool and fed lies by an NFL Team.

But when you combine that with the manner in which he is handling the negotiations, I feel he does not comprehend reality and appreciate this opportunity. 

[Essex Johnson]

(Yesterday, 04:38 PM)RunKijanaRun Wrote: The Bungles might be the only team that would have taken him with a FRP.

So he’s not going to have a lot of trade value even if we could trade him.

1st as for as projections have his elite combine most had my mid teens, low 20s, he had a good amount of interviews, so was not a reach pick from all accounts, actually the Lions were one those interested so who knows, but i agree sitting out a year of play and just the optics of sitting out would push him down to 2nd round for sure, but i think both sides will come together at some point

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(Yesterday, 04:38 PM)RunKijanaRun Wrote: The Bungles might be the only team that would have taken him with a FRP.

So he’s not going to have a lot of trade value even if we could trade him.

I wasn't a fan of the pick, but pretty much everyone had him consistently as a 1st round pick, and not in a "he's a QB so he must be overdrafted" kind of way.

[Essex Johnson]

(Yesterday, 05:29 PM)coachmcneil71 Wrote: Tbh, I think this is a lot of it. He doesn't want to be in Cincy at all, and A&M has already made him wealthy. 

he is not wealthy, he recieved 1 m before taxes, and im sure he spent some of that for sure, he will loss much more if he sits out a year

[*jason*]

(Yesterday, 02:01 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Hey, Ja'Marr's agent is decent lol

And they couldn't even get a deal done with him after his 3rd season.

[wanga]

He’d want to be good, he’s got a fair sense of entitlement already.

[t3r3e3]

(Today, 02:26 AM)jason Wrote: And they couldn't even get a deal done with him after his 3rd season.

Thereby costing the team millions. One of the most glaring front office/ownership faults is their complete lack of proactivity compared to many other NFL franchises. Too many contract negotiations get drug out too long.

[*Nately120*]

(Yesterday, 06:39 PM)Nepa Wrote: This is already hurting both the Bengals and Shemar. He really needs the practice, as he's far from a finished product. And the Bengals really need a DE.

I doubt that the Bengals will give in. This is like going back before the rookie wage scale, when there seemed to be holdouts for the Bengals each year, and they were more than willing to be the one team to draw the line. If Shemar and his agent doesn't see this, and they think the Bengals will give in to an unproven rookie, then I don't think they are very educated on the Bengals MO.

AGENT: Surely you aren't willing to risk wasting a year of Burrow's prime over something this small!

MB:  I am. And don't call me Shirley. 

[Soonerpeace]

Duke on Shemar:
Shemar needs to be here. I’m not going to blame Shemar. He’s listening to the advice he’s paying for.

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) July 21, 2025

[CJD]

(4 hours ago)Nately120 Wrote: AGENT: Surely you aren't willing to risk wasting a year of Burrow's prime over something this small!

MB:  I am. And don't call me Shirley. 

Realistically:

MB: Surely, you aren't advising your client to throw away their career over something this small!

The truth is Stewart needs the Bengals way more than the Bengals need Stewart. Would the team be worse off if he isn't on the team? By a bit, perhaps. He is a bad pass rusher and a rather large project (not sure why we're drafting projects in the first round during our Super Bowl window). He will likely be a decent run stopper early on, but may not be much more than that in his rookie year. But the Bengals go without their first round pick all the time. Dax basically didn't play in his rookie year. Jonah Williams was injured his entire rookie season. Myles Murphy was injured and then ineffective in his rookie year. So the 2025 Cincinnati Bengals are probably not too heavily affected if Stewart doesn't sign with the Bengals.

But Stewart? Oh man. He would be throwing away MILLIONS of dollars if he didn't sign with the Bengals. He was a first round pick this year, which means he is guaranteed around 19 million dollars over the next 4 years. If he refuses to sign with the Bengals, goes and works out for the year, and then re-enters the draft in 2026, he would not be drafted at #17 overall again.

Let's say he falls to a 3rd round pick, which I believe is a very optimistic outcome considering other teams have the same language regarding voids in their contracts and team owners have a tendency to stick together when it comes to contract language (see the recent scandal surrounding guarantees in contracts and collusion from the team owners). I think he could potentially go undrafted if he tried to re-enter the NFL, depending on how other team owners felt about the whole situation.

Regardless, Darius Alexander was the first pick in the 2025 3rd round. He signed a 4 year 6.7 million dollar contract. That is over 12 million dollars that Stewart stands to lose if he does not sign with the Bengals.

It simply cannot happen. It would be malpractice of the highest degree for this agent to recommend his client not sign his contract. The very idea is so stupid, I can't believe people are even willing to talk about it.

Stewart was drafted by the Bengals. He will sign with the Bengals. His leverage is virtually zero. He just needs to stop listening to this moronic agent of his and sign his God damn contract.

[BacknDaDey]

(07-18-2025, 01:04 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote:

Hobspin really won that messaging war with some folks, didn't he? Continuing to inaccurately paint it as that. It is much more than that. It's an expanded Carl Pickens clause being forced in with zero compromise being given back in return. A clause the Bengals didn't have on any of their previous rookie wage scale players, and sure as shit didn't try to force in on the Chase, Higgins, Burrow, Gesicki, etc recent contracts.

The Bengals chose exactly one player as their guinea pig that they wanted to give a worse contract to, and they want to do it without giving anything back to offset that. He didn't even say he would be unwilling to sign that, just that he'd be unwilling to sign it without the NORMAL compromise in return that more of the guaranteed money gets paid out sooner. The Bengals refuse because they don't want compromise, they want submission.

Everyone is spinning it like this is the norm in all rookies contracts now through out the league..  It seems like you are saying that the Bengals FO is adding extra stipulations or clauses to the guaranteed money that other teams didn't include.  Or, other teams included the wording and Stewart is the first on the Bengals that they tried to push it on.  If the latter is true then I sort of understand Stewart's stance.  Like I said, I'm an old geezer.  It's hard for me to follow any of the new contract stuff.  Thanks for the clarification or trying to explain it to me.

[*pally*]

Mike Brown on Shemar Stewart: A very peculiar thing. It's not about money. It's about the guarantee in the case of if he were to do something contrary to the discipline levels of the league.

I don't think that's going to happen ever. That's what's holding it up. It's never…

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) July 21, 2025

[*bfine32*]

(4 hours ago)Soonerpeace Wrote:

Duke on Shemar:
Shemar needs to be here. I’m not going to blame Shemar. He’s listening to the advice he’s paying for.

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) July 21, 2025

One thing we miss in all this is that these guys are just kids. 

[Big Boss]

If Mike Brown's giving an accurate summary of things, then Shemar's agent is a catastrophic moron.

[*ochocincos*]

(4 hours ago)BacknDaDey Wrote: Everyone is spinning it like this is the norm in all rookies contracts now through out the league..  It seems like you are saying that the Bengals FO is adding extra stipulations or clauses to the guaranteed money that other teams didn't include.  Or, other teams included the wording and Stewart is the first on the Bengals that they tried to push it on.  If the latter is true then I sort of understand Stewart's stance.  Like I said, I'm an old geezer.  It's hard for me to follow any of the new contract stuff.  Thanks for the clarification or trying to explain it to me.

From my understanding, it's the latter.

I get being frustrated being the first on a particular team, but if other teams are doing it, it's not guaranteed Stewart would have completely avoided this if drafted by someone else.