Is Shemar holding out?

[*ochocincos*]

Here is something posted earlier today about possibility Stewart could reenter the draft next year due to a CBA loophole, and also clarification on what the voiding of guarantees actually would mean.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/re-enter-the-nfl-draft-how-shemar-stewart-could-use-cba-loophole-to-create-nightmare-situation-for-bengals/

Quote:This would allow the Bengals to void future guarantees if he were to get into trouble (this could be a suspension for on-field conduct, off-field conduct, an arrest or anything else the Bengals can think of). Normally, a first-round pick gets a fully guaranteed four-year contract, but this would give the Bengals some wiggle room to potentially get out of that if he were to get into trouble at any point during his four-year deal.

So it seems specific to almost any on-field or off-field incident.

As for the possibility of him re-entering the draft...

Quote:Here's a look at two of his options he would have if he doesn't want to sign with the Bengals:

He could re-enter the NFL Draft.
If Stewart doesn't sign his contract and he doesn't play football at all in 2025, he could re-enter the NFL Draft in 2026. If he went this route, it means that any team could draft him next year, except for the Bengals. If a player were to successfully pull off a power move like this, it could throw a wrench into the future of the draft. It would set up potential situations where a player could sit out if he got drafted by a team he didn't want to play for. Stewart would essentially have until November to make a decision on this. He's allowed to sign his rookie contract until the Tuesday following Week 10. If he doesn't sign it by that date, then he's not allowed to play in 2025. There's another upside to this strategy: If Stewart went undrafted in 2026 -- maybe his situation with the Bengals scares teams away -- then he would become an undrafted free agent following the 2026 draft and he'd be free to sign with any team.

He could ask for a trade.
If the Bengals won't give him the contract language he wants, maybe someone else will. There is a unique deadline in place for any team that wants to trade a rookie: A deal has to be made at least 30 days before the start of the regular season, so a decision would have to be made here by Aug. 5 or Aug. 8 (The CBA isn't clear if it's 30 days before the start of the first game of the regular season or 30 days before the Bengals' first game of the season). The Bengals don't like being bullied, so this scenario would probably be unlikely, but it would be an option.