When the Cincinnati Bengals selected Shemar Stewart with pick 17 in April of 2025, the ceiling for Texas A&M defensive lineman was one that opened arms to a fanfare. A world-class competitor with an elite ceiling level of athleticism, Stewart was a game-changing edge rusher prospect despite paltry collegiate production. Flash ahead to mid-July, and it all took an unexpected turn: Stewart remains unsigned to his rookie deal, has stayed away from Bengals camp, and has made headlines for returning to College Station to work out with his former Aggies teammates. The resolution of this impasse could have implications on two fronts: the NFL and Texas A&M.
1. The Contract Standoff: A Rookie Confrontation
Shemar Stewart’s refusal to sign mandatory rookie drills previously caused eyebrows to arch last. The refusal is not a financial one—NFL rookies’ pay is on a set scale—but on another clause in the contract. The clause permits the club to take away guaranteed pay in the event that Stewart is indicted as a criminal. Stewart has declined to sign what he deems as excessively penalistic terms, calling it a long-term risk.
He expressed his displeasure in person during minicamp: he was there, but didn’t participate, and ultimately left before the final sessions were conducted. With camp approaching and no signed deal, Stewart won’t sign an ordinary package until that language is removed, which is putting pressure on things.
2. Back at Aggieland: Training With A&M
There were confirmed sightings and photos of Stewart at Texas A&M working out this week. As part of an organized workout session with the Aggies, Stewart fully participated in drills, strength training, and conditioning, sources further added.
While some assume he is just staying in football shape and getting a daily workout, others view it as a ploy. By returning to College Station, he shows a level of confidence that he can maybe return to A&M football—long or short term — if negotiations do not pan out.
This signal places the Bengals on the hot seat, and it suggests Stewart would rather sit out his first NFL game than sign terms in which he is not content.
3. Is Returning to College an Option?
Under old NCAA policy, once the player goes pro for the draft and gets signed by an agent, he is no longer in college. Stewart, having almost certainly done both, is ineligible—i.e., playing again at Texas A&M in the usual sense isn’t going to occur.
College football is different, however. Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) offers expansion, grievances to NCAA policies, and more scrutiny of player rights, equaling a wildcard. Stewart’s team, with the assistance of attorneys, will pursue an unconventional approach: plead grievance on grounds of due process violation, traditional amateurism rules, or to establish a new precedent to reinstatement. One television broadcast commentator believed that “everything with the NCAA is subject to litigation,” even going so far as to imply that Stewart can have a waiver granted if he committed.
If Stewart does get picked up, he can come back to Aggieland, play for Texas A&M for one year, and then enter the 2026 NFL Draft again. He’d only be in Bengals’ rights if he actually does play; staying out completely would leave him free to re-enter without limit.
4. What Texas A&M Can Stand to Gain
Texas A&M supporters can fantasize about bringing Stewart around again next year. If he were on board, the defense would be receiving a seismic makeover. The Aggies lost some of the draft picks on their defensive line and are going to have to heavily rely on returnees if they are to remain the best of the SEC in defense. Stewart would bring talent and exposure.
Even if he trains alone, his maturity, leadership, and physical talent would serve defensive scout teams. Rookie defenders would appreciate the practice of going up against a potential NFL pro every day—a thing of great value to learn.
5. Pressure Mounts on the Bengals
Cincinnati now has a decision. If the Bengals just do nothing, Stewart would be out for the season, a reentry in the 2026 draft, and rob the team of a first-round gem that they traded away for less. That first-round selection earned them a kid with elite athletic ability—and now it hangs by semantics in his most non-negotiable deal.
If Cincinnati gives in and removes the clause, it establishes a precedent that draftees get concessions by threatening them after being drafted. Either outcome, however, will establish the precedent for how rookie deals are negotiated by teams going forward.
6. Stewart’s Risk-Reward Calculation
Stewart is taking a gamble — and a bold one. Sitting out an entire NFL season stunts his long-term development, robs him of pro scheme familiarity, and skimps on payoffs beyond the signing bonus.
If he goes back to A&M, he’ll be facing SEC-level competition and accumulating more game time to sell to 2026. But he’ll also be exposing himself to injury and murky eligibility scenarios. And if the court challenges fail, he’ll be losing a full season, losing a year, and NFL dollars.
But Stewart might see this as a calculated risk to hold onto his rights and establish some leverage.
7. Fan and Media Reaction
Fans divide quickly. Some perceive Stewart as empowered, expressing himself for what he thinks. Others perceive a first-round pick making a play on a golden opportunity to assist an immediate contender.
On NFL message boards and Aggie websites, others rejoice at the comeback’s arrival, while others lament what they feel is ‘career sabotage.’ A recent social media fan survey discovered the fans were nearly as split as to whether Stewart should stay at A&M or return to playing in the NFL.
8. The Bigger Picture: Player Rights Power
Stewart’s standoff is not just a contract fight—it’s a harbinger of a new world. Rookies have built leverage over the last decade using NIL media attention, transfer rights, litigation, and social media.
The NFL’s rookie pay scale limits bargaining on compensation, but provisions like the one Stewart is challenging are negotiable. If Stewart prevails, future rookies will battle comparable contract terms, forcing teams to change bargaining tactics.
On the NCAA front, stars have already exerted legal pressures that rewired transfer and NIL rules. If current NCAA rules are overthrown or reinterpreted, then that would more likely than not open doors for other players to come back after going through the draft declaration process.
9. What’s Next?
With Cincinnati camp on the horizon and preseason on the radar, a timeline is forming.
- Negotiation Deadline: Stewart will finally be signed under contract to play. Without a contract, the Bengals are free to begin negotiating other trades with other teams—Stewart’s name is already on NFL trade lists.
- Legal Filings: Stewart’s representatives will sue—either to the NCAA or to a court of law—bitterly complaining about his ineligibility at some point or another. Any filing this summer would determine whether or not he can play this fall.
- Training Options: Does Stewart remain at A&M, attend pros-only training, or sit out the entire ordeal? His training schedule will be a strong indicator of what lies ahead.
- NFL & NCAA Watchlists: Teams, media, and the NCAA are all taking notice. Decisions by any of them would echo throughout both leagues.
10. What It All Means
Shemar Stewart’s potential decision to “run it back” at Texas A&M is high-stakes poker between a rookie player, his drafting club, and systems that control modern-day football. It offers a scholarship opportunity for future college students with a law standing that differs by injecting words.
For Texas A&M, Stewart’s return is more headline-grabbing, talent, and star power, and less about new narratives. For the Bengals, it’s a battle of wills—be resolute with hardline bargaining or cave to make a point.
