Shemar Stewart's agent goes public about Bengals contract standoff

USA Today

10 hours ago

The Cincinnati Bengals are closing in on Shemar Stewart being the only unsigned first-round pick in the NFL.
Updates on the contract standoff over the team attempting to insert new language in regards to voiding guarantees continue to trickle in, too.
Next up are public comments from Stewart's agent, Zac Hiller.
'Obviously my job, and all agents' job, is to protect the players,' Hiller said on SiriusXM NFL Radio (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). 'Simply put, Shemar would, of course, love for his contract to be as protective as the rest of his Bengals teammates in the past. And, simply put, the way the contract currently reads is not as protective.'
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Hiller added this, per Florio: 'If you want to make changes to your precedent, it should be a negotiation. It should be give and take. It shouldn't just be, 'Hey, we're changing this and sign it or go scratch.''
So, at least from the player's side of things, the Bengals have attempted to change their longstanding contract precedent on this front without any sort of counterbalance to make it work. That, or what they're offering isn't good enough and justifies this very public, messy standoff.
At this point, we're in he said, she said territory. Not that the Bengals say much about anything, really.
What's interesting from Stewart's side is that had he been drafted elsewhere, these language quirks would've likely already been in place and none of this would've happened. Ditto for his choosing, unlike other unsigned rookies, to not participate at all this spring and early summer, before bashing the team in an interview and leaving minicamp early.
Interesting from the Bengals' side, of course, is the sudden desire to change contract precedent and whether or not they're offering enough to make it worth it for Stewart to be the first.
As always, this likely ends in one side blinking and reaching across the aisle to make it work.
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