Rookie Shemar Stewart Continues Contract Dispute with Bengals

SportsGrid

Watch Rookie Shemar Stewart Continues Contract Dispute with Bengals - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Mandatory minicamp starting yesterday around the National Football League.

00:04Sometimes it's not about who is there and who is participating, it's about who is not.

00:10For the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday, DRS, we knew that Trey Hendrickson in a stalemate

00:16with the Bengals front office would not report to mandatory minicamp.

00:21How about the first round pick this past April, about a month and a half ago?

00:26Shamar Stewart, who has not participated at all in rookie minicamp, OTAs, or now mandatory minicamp.

00:34He's there, but he's watching from the sidelines as he is and his representation continue to negotiate

00:41with the Bengals about wording in his rookie deal.

00:45And let me just tell you this, the Rook has all the bravado in the world.

00:50Here's Shamar Stewart with an update on his situation.

00:53We all agree Trey will be right, right?

00:56But technically he's still 1% wrong for being under contract.

01:00So in my case, I'm 100% right.

01:04So it should be a no-brainer.

01:07And in Trey's case, I think it should be a no-brainer too.

01:10I mean, he led 17 and a half seconds for two years back to back.

01:14If I was the GM or I was the owner, take all my money.

01:18But I guess they don't operate like that.

01:24Shamar Stewart, the U.S., basically saying what you have often shared about the Bengals

01:29and their practices in that front office.

01:32What did you make of what the rookie had to say yesterday?

01:35I root for this kid.

01:37I do.

01:37Like, understanding coming from, what, Texas A&M, where they probably got paid like professionals

01:41down there anyway at the NIL.

01:42They just signed a quick piece of paper and got their money and went out and played some

01:45football.

01:45It's like, wait, isn't the pros supposed to be easier?

01:47Like, we're slotted in our draft positions.

01:49We all step in.

01:50We make a lot of money.

01:51And by the way, correct me if I'm wrong, our defense here in Cincinnati is set up to stink.

01:56You're already, as he's saying, messing with the sack leader in the NFL where you don't

02:00want to pay him.

02:01I'm a defensive end.

02:02It should actually work opposite.

02:03Like, damn, Trey's not going to show up.

02:04We better get our young first-round rookie draft pick in here as a defensive end getting

02:08caught up to speed.

02:09And instead, they're just nickel and dime in the kid.

02:11And it's amazing.

02:12And when I say that, it's amazing to me that this organization is still able to operate like

02:16that.

02:16And I feel, again, I feel so bad for you Cincinnati Bengals fans.

02:19I do.

02:19Like, you deserve great football in that town.

02:22Your team stunk for years, and you lucked into Joe Burrow.

02:25And yes, you have to sign quarterbacks.

02:26You stunk really bad and lucked into a Jamar Chase, and you got him there.

02:30First-round draft pick in Tee Higgins.

02:31Those all worked out.

02:32You paid those guys.

02:33And it's like, well, we still want to make enough money where, you know, our bottom line

02:37is more important than the wins on the field.

02:38Why do you do this to your fan base?

02:40Like, you should be in the prime of that organization, the sweet spot of all sweet spots, absolutely pushing

02:46all your chips in the middle of the table and saying, Joe Burrow, we got you here

02:49for the next five to six years in your prime with your wide receivers and a competent defense.

02:54Let's go out and win Super Bowls.

02:56And instead, you have a rookie exposing your entire franchise like, I just want to play.

03:00Give me the normal contract.

03:02I'll sign it, and we'll get out there.

03:03And the fact that this didn't take, like, imagine just getting the contract in front of

03:07you, Ben.

03:07It's like, all right, well, let's figure this out over the next 48 hours.

03:10This is dragging on into months now where you're just not signing a standard contract

03:15because you want to get some stupid clause put in there that's probably meaningless.

03:19And the agent's going like, this clause isn't supposed to be in here.

03:22Just give me a normal contract.

03:23The kid wants to play.

03:24We want him in camp.

03:25You know what he's going to make.

03:26What are we doing here?

03:27But this is the Bengals being the Bengals who probably think, hey, man, if this kid doesn't

03:31sign and doesn't play for the first three weeks, we can recoup probably some of the signing

03:35bonus that we possibly could get and all that other stuff.

03:37We don't have to pay the kid.

03:38Like, that's how the Bengals operate.

03:40Who cares who's on the field as long as my stars aren't there and we don't have to pay

03:43them?

03:43Like, that's what I feel like the Bengals operate under every single day.

Category

Transcript

Recommended