The Cincinnati Bengals have two of the most notable bits of contract drama in the NFL.
In fact, they might occupy the top two slots overall.
One is the contract standoff with Trey Hendrickson, the All-Pro who is again embroiled in a dispute for more years and guarantees, while the team seems to eyeball a year-to-year situation.
The other is with first-round pick Shemar Stewart, whose unorthodox decision to sit out of spring work while unsigned is a response to the team attempting to reset contract language, starting with the rookie.
As The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. dissected, perhaps Stewart gets done first, but both situations are a mess:
“Just one? Hendrickson and Stewart were both vocal in airing grievances about the state of their contract discussions this offseason. Stewart feels more likely to avoid distraction than Hendrickson if both sides can come to their senses on default language when rookies report for camp. Hendrickson sounds willing to keep the distractions rolling and stated publicly he won’t play on the current contract. The best play for the Bengals in terms of team chemistry would be to get both these done before camp and hit the season running. However, with Hendrickson, that feels unlikely given how dug in both sides have been in these discussions.”
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It’s tough to get a read on which one ends first. For all the logic we can throw out, Stewart being unwilling to practice despite being a project and missing developmental time and the fact Hendrickson has done this multiple years in a row messes with the outlook.
On paper, there’s more money and risk involved with Hendrickson, so perhaps that drags on longer. But he’s also more important to on-field success in 2025, so who knows?
Right now, projecting Stewart and the Bengals to compromise seems like the safer bet, but the fact the Bengals are even in this situation with both players isn’t doing their reputation any favors.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Hendrickson or Stewart? Which Bengals contract standoff ends first?
Reporting by Chris Roling, Bengals Wire / Bengals Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
