Latest news with #rookiecontract
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
First-round pick Shemar Stewart has plenty of learning moments during his initial Bengals' practice
CINCINNATI — One day after signing his rookie contact, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart took the field for his first NFL practice on Sunday. While Stewart was the final Bengals' draft pick to sign and criticized ownership while the negotiations were going on, coach Zac Taylor said that the organization can leave all of that contention in the past. 'That's part of being a professional,' Taylor said. 'Just put it behind you. He's a part of our team, so we support him every step of the way now. You just put all that stuff behind you.' Stewart missed three practices before signing his rookie deal, and he also didn't participate in any of the Bengals' spring workouts. On Sunday, he went through some extra sets of drills with one-on-one instruction from defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, was a full participant in position drills and then received about 10 reps in full-team drills against the first-team offense. 'I just needed to get on the field as soon as possible,' Stewart said. 'I needed to start learning, start getting better. There is a long season ahead. I needed to be ready.' He said that he didn't have any regrets about the negotiation process. Stewart also defended his agent, Zac Hiller. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin criticized Hiller last week by saying that Stewart was listening to the advice that he was paying for. Stewart said that he appreciated Hiller's approach in negotiations. Stewart's four-year deal is worth $18.97 million guaranteed, including a $10.4 million signing bonus. Stewart, the 17th overall pick in April's draft, and Hiller eventually agreed to the Bengals' provision voiding future guarantees if there are any off-field incidents or conduct detrimental to the team. However, he received $500,000 more of his signing bonus now instead of later in the season. 'I want an agent that's more of a pit bull,' Stewart said. 'I don't want an agent that can easily be pushed over. I want someone that's going to war (for) me, so I don't have to do any of the hard work behind the scenes. In terms of that, I think Zac is a great agent. He handles business very well. That's my dog for life.' On the field, Stewart struggled with the heat as well as the new techniques from the Bengals coaching staff. At one point during practice, he poured water over his eyes only to find out that it was Gatorade. That stung his eyes, and he joked about it being a learning moment. During his first practice rep against offensive linemen, he got pushed back and spun around. That was another learning moment. 'Just get him out here and get him going with our fundamentals and with Jerry and all the things we're teaching,' Taylor said. 'Tomorrow we get the chance to put the pads on, to get a chance to feel what that feels like again. It's just good to go full speed with him.' Stewart said that he hopes this week was a start of a long Bengals' career, and he's focused on the long game now that his contract has been signed. 'It was never me vs. anybody,' Stewart said. 'We just didn't see eye to eye. At the end of the day, I'm happy to be a Bengal. I'm happy that I got drafted here. We have a long relationship ahead of us. There's no bad blood. It's just how things go sometimes.' ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
First-round pick Shemar Stewart has plenty of learning moments during his initial Bengals' practice
CINCINNATI (AP) — One day after signing his rookie contact, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart took the field for his first NFL practice on Sunday. While Stewart was the final Bengals' draft pick to sign and criticized ownership while the negotiations were going on, coach Zac Taylor said that the organization can leave all of that contention in the past. 'That's part of being a professional,' Taylor said. 'Just put it behind you. He's a part of our team, so we support him every step of the way now. You just put all that stuff behind you.' Stewart missed three practices before signing his rookie deal, and he also didn't participate in any of the Bengals' spring workouts. On Sunday, he went through some extra sets of drills with one-on-one instruction from defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, was a full participant in position drills and then received about 10 reps in full-team drills against the first-team offense. 'I just needed to get on the field as soon as possible,' Stewart said. 'I needed to start learning, start getting better. There is a long season ahead. I needed to be ready.' He said that he didn't have any regrets about the negotiation process. Stewart also defended his agent, Zac Hiller. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin criticized Hiller last week by saying that Stewart was listening to the advice that he was paying for. Stewart said that he appreciated Hiller's approach in negotiations. Stewart's four-year deal is worth $18.97 million guaranteed, including a $10.4 million signing bonus. Stewart, the 17th overall pick in April's draft, and Hiller eventually agreed to the Bengals' provision voiding future guarantees if there are any off-field incidents or conduct detrimental to the team. However, he received $500,000 more of his signing bonus now instead of later in the season. 'I want an agent that's more of a pit bull,' Stewart said. 'I don't want an agent that can easily be pushed over. I want someone that's going to war (for) me, so I don't have to do any of the hard work behind the scenes. In terms of that, I think Zac is a great agent. He handles business very well. That's my dog for life.' On the field, Stewart struggled with the heat as well as the new techniques from the Bengals coaching staff. At one point during practice, he poured water over his eyes only to find out that it was Gatorade. That stung his eyes, and he joked about it being a learning moment. During his first practice rep against offensive linemen, he got pushed back and spun around. That was another learning moment. 'Just get him out here and get him going with our fundamentals and with Jerry and all the things we're teaching,' Taylor said. 'Tomorrow we get the chance to put the pads on, to get a chance to feel what that feels like again. It's just good to go full speed with him.' Stewart said that he hopes this week was a start of a long Bengals' career, and he's focused on the long game now that his contract has been signed. 'It was never me vs. anybody,' Stewart said. 'We just didn't see eye to eye. At the end of the day, I'm happy to be a Bengal. I'm happy that I got drafted here. We have a long relationship ahead of us. There's no bad blood. It's just how things go sometimes.' ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
First-round pick Shemar Stewart has plenty of learning moments during his initial Bengals' practice
CINCINNATI (AP) — One day after signing his rookie contact, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart took the field for his first NFL practice on Sunday. While Stewart was the final Bengals' draft pick to sign and criticized ownership while the negotiations were going on, coach Zac Taylor said that the organization can leave all of that contention in the past. 'That's part of being a professional,' Taylor said. 'Just put it behind you. He's a part of our team, so we support him every step of the way now. You just put all that stuff behind you.' Stewart missed three practices before signing his rookie deal, and he also didn't participate in any of the Bengals' spring workouts. On Sunday, he went through some extra sets of drills with one-on-one instruction from defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, was a full participant in position drills and then received about 10 reps in full-team drills against the first-team offense. 'I just needed to get on the field as soon as possible,' Stewart said. 'I needed to start learning, start getting better. There is a long season ahead. I needed to be ready.' He said that he didn't have any regrets about the negotiation process. Stewart also defended his agent, Zac Hiller. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin criticized Hiller last week by saying that Stewart was listening to the advice that he was paying for. Stewart said that he appreciated Hiller's approach in negotiations. Stewart's four-year deal is worth $18.97 million guaranteed, including a $10.4 million signing bonus. Stewart, the 17th overall pick in April's draft, and Hiller eventually agreed to the Bengals' provision voiding future guarantees if there are any off-field incidents or conduct detrimental to the team. However, he received $500,000 more of his signing bonus now instead of later in the season. 'I want an agent that's more of a pit bull,' Stewart said. 'I don't want an agent that can easily be pushed over. I want someone that's going to war (for) me, so I don't have to do any of the hard work behind the scenes. In terms of that, I think Zac is a great agent. He handles business very well. That's my dog for life.' On the field, Stewart struggled with the heat as well as the new techniques from the Bengals coaching staff. At one point during practice, he poured water over his eyes only to find out that it was Gatorade. That stung his eyes, and he joked about it being a learning moment. During his first practice rep against offensive linemen, he got pushed back and spun around. That was another learning moment. 'Just get him out here and get him going with our fundamentals and with Jerry and all the things we're teaching,' Taylor said. 'Tomorrow we get the chance to put the pads on, to get a chance to feel what that feels like again. It's just good to go full speed with him.' Stewart said that he hopes this week was a start of a long Bengals' career, and he's focused on the long game now that his contract has been signed. 'It was never me vs. anybody,' Stewart said. 'We just didn't see eye to eye. At the end of the day, I'm happy to be a Bengal. I'm happy that I got drafted here. We have a long relationship ahead of us. There's no bad blood. It's just how things go sometimes.' ___ AP NFL:
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
First-round pick Shemar Stewart has plenty of learning moments during his initial Bengals' practice
One day after signing his rookie contract, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart took the field for his first NFL practice on Sunday. While Stewart was the final Bengals draft pick to sign and criticized ownership while the negotiations were going on, coach Zac Taylor said that the organization can leave all of that contention in the past. 'That's part of being a professional,' Taylor said. 'Just put it behind you. He's a part of our team, so we support him every step of the way now. You just put all that stuff behind you.' Stewart missed three practices before signing his rookie deal, and he also didn't participate in any of the Bengals spring workouts. On Sunday, he went through some extra sets of drills with one-on-one instruction from defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, was a full participant in position drills, and then received about 10 reps in full-team drills against the first-team offense. 'I just needed to get on the field as soon as possible,' Stewart said. 'I needed to start learning, start getting better. There is a long season ahead. I needed to be ready.' He said that he didn't have any regrets about the negotiation process. Stewart also defended his agent, Zac Hiller. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin criticized Hiller last week by saying that Stewart was listening to the advice that he was paying for. Stewart said that he appreciated Hiller's approach in negotiations. Stewart's four-year deal is worth 18.97 million guaranteed, including a 10.4 million signing bonus. Stewart, the 17th overall pick in April's draft, and Hiller eventually agreed to the Bengals provision voiding future guarantees if there are any off-field incidents or conduct detrimental to the team. However, he received 500,000 more of his signing bonus now instead of later in the season. 'I want an agent that's more of a pit bull,' Stewart said. 'I don't want an agent that can easily be pushed over. I want someone that's going to war (for) me, so I don't have to do any of the hard work behind the scenes. In terms of that, I think Zac is a great agent. He handles business very well. That's my dog for life.' On the field, Stewart struggled with the heat as well as the new techniques from the Bengals coaching staff. At one point during practice, he poured water over his eyes only to find out that it was Gatorade. That stung his eyes, and he joked about it being a learning moment. During his first practice rep against offensive linemen, he got pushed back and spun around. That was another learning moment. 'Just get him out here and get him going with our fundamentals and with Jerry and all the things we're teaching,' Taylor said. 'Tomorrow we get the chance to put the pads on to get a chance to feel what that feels like again. It's just good to go full speed with him.' Stewart said that he hopes this week was a start of a long Bengals career, and he's focused on the long game now that his contract has been signed. 'It was never me versus anybody,' Stewart said. 'We just didn't see eye to eye. At the end of the day, I'm happy to be a Bengal. I'm happy that I got drafted here. We have a long relationship ahead of us. There's no bad blood. It's just how things go sometimes.'
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Bengals' Shemar Stewart has ‘no regrets' about holdout: ‘All football now'
CINCINNATI — The last time Shemar Stewart sat in front of his locker answering questions from the media, he was taking shots at the Bengals organization amid a dispute over his rookie contract. He stated the team was more interested in winning arguments than games. With his rookie deal finally signed, 94 days after he was selected No. 17 in the 2025 NFL Draft, Stewart expressed a 'deep sense of joy.' He recognized the impetus in the deal getting done was that he needed to get on the field as soon as possible. Advertisement 'It's time for all football now,' Stewart said. 'I don't got to worry about anything else but football.' However, in terms of how the deal went down, what he said and how contentious the process got, he said he wouldn't change anything in hindsight. 'Nope,' Stewart said. 'I try to live my life with no regrets.' Last week, Bengals de facto general manager Duke Tobin took aim at Stewart's agent, Zac Hiller of LAA Sports, stating 'I don't understand or believe or agree with the advice' Stewart is paying for. Stewart openly defended Hiller's approach in the negotiations, which ended with Stewart accepting the default language in exchange for the Bengals paying him $500,000 of his signing bonus up front instead of in December. 'In my opinion, I feel like I want an agent that's more of a pit bull,' he said. 'You feel me? I don't want an agent that can easily be pushed over. I want someone that's going to war (for) me. So I don't have to do any of the hard work behind the scenes. In terms of that regard, I think Zac is a great agent. He handles business very well, that's my dog for life.' Stewart was working out at Texas A&M during his time away, spawning rumors he might return to the Aggies, but Stewart put that talk to bed. 'The Internet makes up some crazy things sometimes,' Stewart said. 'I've just got to sit back and laugh at it sometimes 'cause I don't know where they get it from. I mean, I can't go back and work at my old college scene? I mean, stupid.' Shemar Stewart going through the early paces here. — Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) July 27, 2025 Stewart admitted the heat and getting acclimated to practice took some time, but the Bengals eased him in. He participated in about 10 reps of team drills, according to head coach Zac Taylor. The coach said the immediate focus is merely getting him acclimated. Stewart came in before anyone else at 6:30 a.m. for an early meeting about his ramp-up process. Advertisement There are expectations for gradual growth in how much he participates. Stewart expects to enjoy a fresh start after the nasty back and forth it took to arrive at this moment. 'End of the day, I'm happy to be a Bengal,' he said. 'I'm happy I got drafted here. We have a long relationship ahead of us. There is no bad blood. It's just how things go sometimes.'
