The Bengals Lost Shemar Stewart After Minicamp, and They Might Lose Him Altogether

"I mean, I've been doing this for most of my whole life, and then all of a sudden it's gone over something very simple to fix," Stewart said this week. "It's kind of disappointing. It's very important. I mean, you gotta get your body somewhat prepared to play football. Especially me coming from college, the NFL is a way [more] physical game, even though I played in the SEC, which is very physical. But nothing compares to actually playing in the NFL. So I thought I'd be on the field by now."

It's especially important for Stewart to get those NFL reps, because while he is an absolute physical specimen at 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds, with measurables and traits that allowed him to blow things up at the scouting combine, his relative lack of a pass-rush plan is something that can only be improved upon by actual work on the field. 

But what if the schism continues through the season? Stewart sounds as if he's entirely dug in on his end, and the Bengals don't historically reward their players — even their best players — until and unless they absolutely have to. 

Technically, Stewart could sit out the entire 2025 season and re-enter the draft in 2026 if things went that far. He would not be allowed to return to college and play, nor could he play for any other football league. If he did so, as Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio points out, Stewart's rights would revert back to the Bengals if and when he chose re-entry into the NFL. 

That would be a horrible result for all involved, but given Stewart's (justified) conviction that he's not being treated fairly, and the Bengals' history of establishing needless contractual barriers to success, nothing that would seem to be too weird in this situation is off the table.