Bengals Front Office Needs To Get With It.

[*ochocincos*]

I think it might be a stretch that this team NEEDS Stewart to have success.
Bengals need Hendrickson, I'll give you that, but if they are going into the season NEEDING a draft pick to be successful, they didn't do enough prior to the draft and are likely risking a lot banking on rookie performance.

The way I see it, Stewart is 4th on the pecking order for DEs behind Hendrickson, Ossai, and Murphy.

And what has Stewart shown to convince the Bengals to back down in their stance?
He/his camp continue to talk to the media about the situation, putting the team in a bad light (whether it's true or not), which may not really give the Bengals incentive to fold to his/their demands.
At this point, there are no organized football activities for another month or so, so there's no need to rush the contract signing right now.
If Training Camp is about to start though that week and he still isn't signed, I would have a different view.

Bengals not having Hendrickson would be a huge risk to the success of this defense given he's averaged 14 sacks a season while a Bengal.
With no other pass rusher on the roster now who has put up even 6.0 sacks or more in a season, that could really result in a barren cupboard when it comes to the pass rush.