CINCINNATI — From the outside, this spring looked disrupted and distracting for the Bengals, capped off Thursday by the early departure from mandatory minicamp a day earlier by first-round pick Shemar Stewart.
The top Bengals draft pick this season remains unsigned and has not signed a waiver to take part in any on-field activities like second-rounder Demetrius Knight Jr. (still unsigned) did.
So apparently, there was no reason for Stewart to answer the early alarm bell for the 8:45 final practice before a five-week hiatus before training camp.
His absence was a final snub of the team that he has issues with over the terms and conditions of his rookie contract. Then there’s Trey Hendrickson, who held his impromptu news conference on May 13 on the practice fields outside Paycor Stadium.
He hasn’t shown up at all, except to air his grievances through the media. This is not what the Bengals’ re-shaped defense needed heading into the first season with Al Golden calling the defense.
But to Zac Taylor Thursday, he wasn’t going to let external narratives take away from what he believes was one of the best springs he’s had in his seventh season as head coach.
“I think we had a really productive off season. We certainly got better in all areas, able to kind of keep us strong on offense,” Taylor said. “Defensively, Al, the new staff, some of the new players, have done a great job putting in the work to make progress every single day. And now the key is just over these five weeks these guys staying in the playbooks and so that we can hit the ground running. We come back for training camp, but made a lot of progress. I think it was a great spring for our team, and look forward to getting back after the summer.”
Ted Karras agreed.
“We’ve had a great spring, probably our most productive since I’ve been here, and it’s my fourth spring here,” Karras said. “I thought we got a lot of great O-line, D-line work in. I think Scott (Peters) and Jerry (Montgomery) have really added a great new dimension to our trench play. I think we’ve got a lot of great players and it just felt like we went out there for these last, what, nine or 10 practices, and really got after it, more so than we have in the past.”
But the obvious cloud hanging over the team is the refusal of their first-round pick to sign the waiver and go on the field.
“He wasn’t here today, so we just focus on the guys who are here,” Taylor said in his best Bill Belichick tone, before offering, “He and I have had positive conversations.
Did he communicate with Taylor before he left?
“He did. We’ve had good communication.”
Is it a big deal that he’s missed out on on-field reps?
“I think for all the rookies, you’d like them to be on the field, but certainly there’s things that that happen over the course of an NFL career, and this is one of them right now,” Taylor added. “So, he’s been in the meetings, he’s been positive, and we look forward to getting him back on the field.”
Taylor hasn’t had to deal with a rookie holdout before. But he is taking that in stride.
“There’s a first for everything,” Taylor said. “You know, it’s every year, you kind of learn something new in this position. And this is one of those things that the players have managed really well, and we keep the team moving, and when he jumps on the field, that’ll be great for
our team.”
After listening to Stewart’s criticism of the team on Tuesday, Taylor said Stewart is free to have his opinions.
“I think there’s education that happens with all the rookies that we do our best to educate them,” Taylor told me. “Number one, we want to protect our team, our locker room. And so there’s some things I understand when there’s frustration there, but that’s how he chose to do it, and that’s his prerogative, and we look forward to getting him back in the fold.”
Will this carry over to training camp, if Stewart eventually signs and reports?
“I think we have a great team right now, and so our focus is just keep this team moving forward,” Taylor said. “And when those situations work themselves out, we’ll welcome those guys back on the field. But right now, we have a great team that’s made great progress, and we’ll focus on that.”
Does Taylor still feel good about what Stewart can provide this season?
“We’ve had a COVID off season before. We never had an off season,” Taylor said. “And you started August 15 in 2020, so there’s still time to get work in, and I’m excited to get him to do that.”
Bengals player rep and team captain Ted Karras wears multiple hats, as team rep, captain but also team employee.
“I think obviously everyone can agree that not practicing all spring is an unfortunate outcome of business,” Karras said Thursday. “It’s a reality. I don’t think there’s any resentment from players, but I hope that it’s resolved before the real, real (camp) starts criticized.”
As for Stewart holding court in front of his locker on Tuesday in the shadows of other players who were working on the field?
“Obviously, it’s not the best case scenario of how the spring could have gone for our first-round pick,” Karras added. “But there is a pretty serious business aspect to our profession. And he’s taking counsel from his camp. And the main thing I want to say is to either of our defensive ends that there’s not any harboring resentment in this locker room to them.
“I really hope that both camps (Hendrickson and Stewart) can figure this out because we have a really good team. We’ve had a super productive spring. And you just don’t want this to carry over into into summer. (As for the Players Association), and what does PA to think of this? It’s a fascinating case study. It is, and honestly, it’s hard to get all the information, because you don’t know what you’re looking at. I mean, Twitter is Twitter, so I don’t know, really, what the actual dispute is. And I think that it’s very nuanced. I think from a PA perspective, always, we don’t want language in contracts that are going to be negative to players.
“As far as guaranteed money, we’re always trying to max the amount of guarantees that guys get so, it’s a business negotiation. And, I just feel for Shemar that this is his first taste of the league with kind of a lot of (criticism) on the internet. But Twitter doesn’t mess around so I hope that he can come and be super productive in fall and kind of get everyone back on his side. But again, I will reiterate, his teammates, this locker room, we are not harboring any resentment. We just hope that it gets resolved with with upstairs.”
Then there are the fans who feel that Stewart hasn’t earned the right to holdout and speak out as a rookie that hasn’t yet stepped foot on an NFL field and even taken a practice rep.
“Well, I think another perspective you can even talk about is just how much money is at stake,” Karras answered. “So I think anyone in any position, any job, when it’s that much money, things get very serious. So, I don’t know if it’s about earning the right. I don’t think there’s anything about earning the right. I think this is just like there’s just a lot of money at stake, and I just hope that we can resolve this. Get him back on track and have a great career in Stripes.”
The Bengals don’t set foot on the field again until July 23 when training camp opens on the Kettering Health practice fields outside Paycor Stadium.
