Contract Turmoil Continues In Cincinnati Before Training Camp
The Cincinnati Bengals are heading into 2025 facing a potential collapse. It’s mostly all on the defensive end, and this streak is continuing from the end of the last season, when the team narrowly missed making the playoffs with a 9-8 record in the 2024 season. That being said, two key rushers remain in major contract disputes. It hasn’t been anything but good for this team, and it is continuing to show throughout the rest of the offseason and the start of the preseason.
At the moment, the Bengals are having issues with defensive end Shemar Stewart. The team selected this new rookie with the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. He has been involved in a significant contract dispute with the team and has not signed his rookie contract or participated in any mandatory minicamp drills. Stewart's dispute centers on contract language that the Bengals have been attempting to add, which could impact the possibility of his guaranteed money. There has been talk of him returning to college or forcing a resolution; either way, it puts his NFL debut and the team in jeopardy.
The other player the team is struggling with is Trey Hendrickson. This veteran is coming off a 17.5 sack season and a Defensive Player of the Year runner-up nod. Hendrickson was not happy with his contract and is also protesting away from anything to do with the Bengals at the moment. He skipped out on mini-camp amid trade requests and stalled on extension talks. His future of playing with the Bengals now hangs at an all-time low as the training camp is set to begin for all 32 NFL teams.
This is unlikely to be an excellent look for the Bengals in their attempt to make the playoffs this year. Last year, they let a total of 434 points go by. It was one of the worst marks in the entire league, and it was essentially the primary reason they did not qualify for the playoffs last season. If Cincinnati were to lose both of these players, the defensive line would run extremely thin. They have had no issues with the offensive line; however, all players have shown up and worked hard under pressure, despite the current contract disputes among their teammates. Training camp begins on July 22nd, and if no decisions have been made, they either need to risk heading into the season with an unsupported defensive line or figure out how to resolve their contract issues with these players as quickly as possible.
