Bengals now have only one major offseason issue to resolve

The Cincinnati Bengals finally have their most promising draft selection under contract, which leaves them with just one major issue to sort out over the next several weeks.

On Friday, the Bengals and rookie first-round pick Shemar Stewart reached agreement on a four-year, $18.97M contract that is fully guaranteed. The deal includes a signing bonus of slightly more than $10M.

The agreement with Stewart ends a weeks-long saga that included the former Texas A&M pass-rusher publicly calling out his new team. Now, the Bengals will likely focus on trying to mend fences with their more proven quarterback assailant.

Veteran defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been seeking a contract extension all offseason. The 30-year-old did not report to training camp this week and has suggested the Bengals are being unreasonable in negotiations. Hendrickson told a reporter this week that he has shown a willingness to take less than market value on a new deal, but Cincinnati's brass has refused to guarantee him any money beyond the 2026 season.

One potential problem for Hendrickson could be that the Bengals now feel they have added leverage. With the nuclear option no longer on the table for Stewart, team executives could, in theory, argue that they have a player who can step in and fill the void left by Hendrickson's absence.

That would be a massive gamble for the Bengals to take.

Hendrickson, who is set to make a base salary of $16M in the final year of his contract this year, had 35 sacks over the past two seasons. That was the most in the NFL during that span. He had 17.5 sacks each season and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024.

The Bengals ranked 25th in the NFL in both scoring defense and total yards allowed last season. That was with Hendrickson regularly terrorizing opposing quarterbacks.

Simply put, Cincinnati needs all the help it can get on the defensive side of the ball. Finding common ground with Hendrickson would mean bringing back arguably their best defensive player and pairing him with a pass-rusher the Bengals felt was worthy of the No. 17 overall pick.

Now that the Stewart situation is taken care, the Bengals should cross the final item off of their to-do list and focus all of their attention on trying to contend for a Super Bowl.