Latest on Shemar Stewart, Bengals Contract Talks Revealed After Demetrius Knight Deal

Despite coming to terms with 2025 second-round pick Demetrius Knight Jr. on a rookie contract, the Cincinnati Bengals and first-round pick Shemar Stewart reportedly aren't any closer to a deal.

According to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, "no progress" has been made between Stewart and the Bengals on the heels of the Bengals signing Knight to a four-year contract that fully guarantees 80 percent of his money.

Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer added that the Bengals are also giving Knight 75 percent of his signing bonus upon signing, which is a figure that has not been offered to Stewart despite him being the No. 17 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Stewart is the only first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft who has yet to sign a rookie contract, and Bengals training camp is just days away from starting on Wednesday. Bengals rookies, however, are scheduled to report on Saturday.

ESPN's Ben Baby reported Stewart did not report on Saturday, as he remains unsigned.

Aside from Stewart, the other remaining holdouts are all second-round picks, although there are extenuating circumstances that made it more difficult to sign second-rounders this year than in past years.

Wide receiver Jayden Higgins, who was the No. 34 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft by the Houston Texans, signed a fully guaranteed deal back in May, making him the first second-round pick to ever get fully guaranteed money.

Since then, multiple second-rounders have signed deals that are either fully or mostly guaranteed.

As for Stewart, his refusal to sign thus far reportedly has to do with the specific language included in the contract offers.

Back in May, Stewart told ESPN's Ben Baby: "I'm not asking for anything crazy. I'm not even asking for nothing. I just want things to be consistent. I just want consistent language as in the past contracts. I just won't practice until I get that."

Baby went on to report that "the conflict stems from wording that could potentially affect the guaranteed money on the rookie deals, which would set a precedent for future Bengals contracts."

While getting a first-round pick signed in time for training camp is always of the utmost importance, it is an even bigger deal for the Bengals given that their top pass-rusher, Trey Hendrickson, is holding out as well.

If neither Hendrickson nor Stewart sign soon, the Bengals will prepare for the start of the 2025 season with 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy and 2021 third-round pick Joseph Ossai as the top edge-rushers on the roster.

Ossai was second on the team with five sacks last season and Murphy had none in 13 games, which speaks to the importance of getting Hendrickson and Stewart in the fold.