Rookies and veterans report to Cincinnati Bengals training camp on July 18 and July 22. For now, it doesn't look like either Trey Hendrickson or Shemar Stewart will be in attendance, but that could change over the next few days.
For now, both are frustrated with the lack of progress on getting a contract agreed to with the Bengals' front office. Hendrickson is coming off an All-Pro season where he led the NFL in sacks, whereas Stewart is an unproven player who shouldn't have much to negotiate on contracts that are mostly predetermined.
However, the notoriously cheap Bengals are being especially stingy this time around. The Bengals would prefer to be able to have the ability to void the rookie's contract in the future if he gets in trouble or otherwise is involved in conduct that is deemed to be detrimental to the team.
Meanwhile, many other rookie contracts do not include that specific clause. In other words, Stewart simply wants the same deal that hundreds of other players have already received, but the Bengals are seeking other ways they can potentially save a few bucks in the case of an emergency.
Nevertheless, Stewart is apparently over it. According to 247 Sports' Bud Elliot , instead of getting ready to practice with the team that selected him 17th overall in the first round, he's now returning to his college team to practice with Texas A&M.
"A guy who has had some good [Texas] A&M stuff in the past, he hit me, he's like, 'Hey, Shemar might end up back here… He has been at College Station. He has been fully involved in workouts. He could try to come back and play again this season and go into the draft again next year."
It's an unprecedented move, but Stewart apparently is operating with the belief that he can simply return to college football and re-enter the draft next year and hope to avoid getting selected by the Bengals all over again.
If Stewart does not sign his Bengals contract, the team would receive no compensation from the NFL of any kind, as they look at it as Cincinnati failing to negotiate on good terms.
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