Not trying to bag on this player man. But I do not recall a big play he made in three seasons.

Hey Nav said:

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So he can make more $ at A&M (or elsewhere) playing at the college level this year ?

The times, they are a'changin...

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More like he can still make really good money at the college level, which allows him a stronger negotiating position. If he has to survive off what we would pay him to return, I bet he'll make it.

Social media is saying that he's practicing with the Ags... anybody know if he's with the team?

rootube said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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Your understanding is wrong.

Under the CBA, if he goes back to college the bengals retain his rights.

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I mean when the CBA was created there wasn't even the possibility of going back to college so how would that be a provision? Not an expert but seems odd. Technically it's still not possible now until the first person does it.

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NFL has always been this way.

Roger Staubach is a good example. He was drafted in 1964 by the Cowboys, but since he was a Naval Academy graduate he had to do his 4 year obligation. When that was completed and he was able to come into the league in 1969 the Cowboys still owned his draft rights. Had he opted to go to the AFL, he would have been a Chief since they drafted him.

Bo Jackson was drafted by Tampa Bay, but didn't want to play for them. So he went the baseball route. He only came back to football because Tampa traded him to the Raiders.

He bailed on his team for the bowl game and he's bail again

Buy them Starz

He wouldn't bail on a playoff run. If he bails on a bowl, well we weren't supposed to have him anyway

AgWhoop2015 said:

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Buy them Starz

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It isn't the number 1 thread or even a thread at all so I guess not

rootube said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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If he goes back to school, the bengals retain his rights another year. So even if he could get his eligibility it would just put him back in the same spot his in.

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If he came back to A&M (which is highly unlikely) he would go back into the draft next year and be eligible to sign with another team. That's my understanding. So the Bengals can either sign him, trade him or lose a high first round pick. The most likely outcome is that the Bengals finally sign him.

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Where are you getting this? If he could come back (doubtful you can get a court case in that time frame), the Bengals still own his rights for one more year. This isn't baseball. He has zero leverage in this and he's just hurting himself.

aggiedad7 said:

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rootube said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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If he goes back to school, the bengals retain his rights another year. So even if he could get his eligibility it would just put him back in the same spot his in.

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If he came back to A&M (which is highly unlikely) he would go back into the draft next year and be eligible to sign with another team. That's my understanding. So the Bengals can either sign him, trade him or lose a high first round pick. The most likely outcome is that the Bengals finally sign him.

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Where are you getting this? If he could come back (doubtful you can get a court case in that time frame), the Bengals still own his rights for one more year. This isn't baseball. He has zero leverage in this and he's just hurting himself.

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I'm not getting it from anywhere or suggesting this is even possible. Just googling to try and understand how this works and apparently making BMX mad in the process. I know that BMX is "100%" confident, and he may be right. One thing I can promise you is that if this thread comes up again. I will suggest it's 100% possible just to get a reaction from BMX.

aggiedad7 said:

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rootube said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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If he goes back to school, the bengals retain his rights another year. So even if he could get his eligibility it would just put him back in the same spot his in.

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If he came back to A&M (which is highly unlikely) he would go back into the draft next year and be eligible to sign with another team. That's my understanding. So the Bengals can either sign him, trade him or lose a high first round pick. The most likely outcome is that the Bengals finally sign him.

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Where are you getting this? If he could come back (doubtful you can get a court case in that time frame), the Bengals still own his rights for one more year. This isn't baseball. He has zero leverage in this and he's just hurting himself.

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These are uncharted waters. Youre sailing in and not knowing where things might land. Dangerous for both sides and thats why we are here. They didn't think Shemar would do anything. But he should and has.

The Bengals will get pressure from other NFL teams to get him signed. They don't want this kind of precedent being set.

They'd love to be able to release players for whatever they want. They do not want to push it to being a "we dont want to play in your league" with current and draft players

Shemar will not be playing for the Ags this season. Sorry, guys. Don't be delusional.

LB12Diamond said:

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The Bengals will get pressure from other NFL teams to get him signed. They don't want this kind of precedent being set.

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The pressure on the Bengals is they are thin at the position and drafted him for a reason. Many people think the Bengals over drafted for him so a trade is unlikely.

Pressure on Stewart is that he is doing some reputation damage and many believe if you held the draft over again tomorrow he could go significantly lower.


The most likely outcome BY FAR is that someone caves and he is signed in time for pre season camp.

There's no pressure on Stewart. What he's asking to be removed is not in other players contracts. So he has all the leverage.

It's not like he's requesting something no other player requests.

the most cool guy said:

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Shemar will not be playing for the Ags this season. Sorry, guys. Don't be delusional.

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Not cool guy. Again.

rootube said:

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LB12Diamond said:

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The Bengals will get pressure from other NFL teams to get him signed. They don't want this kind of precedent being set.

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The pressure on the Bengals is they are thin at the position and drafted him for a reason. Many people think the Bengals over drafted for him so a trade is unlikely.

Pressure on Stewart is that he is doing some reputation damage and many believe if you held the draft over again tomorrow he could go significantly lower.


The most likely outcome BY FAR is that someone caves and he is signed in time for pre season camp.

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There's zero pressure on him to resist an unheard of and never before contract. Pressure is on him to have to fight it. He didn't do anything and now we will see what the future will be

rgleml said:

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I read that he is upset about language in the contract not the money.

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Let's be honest, he's not upset. His agent is.

He probably hasn't read the contract.

Sounds like a pretty BS move from The Bengals organization, so it seems that his agent is doing his job.

His agent letting him sign it would be horrible for his agent. Good luck getting new clients.

We shall see just how stupid the Bengals are.

I guess I'm the crazy one who thinks it'd be a good thing if the #17 pick in the draft coming back to play another year would be a good thing?

By far the most likely thing is that his team is leaking this to get some leverage, but still, I don't understand the negativity and bashing here.

TAMUallen said:

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aggiedad7 said:

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rootube said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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If he goes back to school, the bengals retain his rights another year. So even if he could get his eligibility it would just put him back in the same spot his in.

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If he came back to A&M (which is highly unlikely) he would go back into the draft next year and be eligible to sign with another team. That's my understanding. So the Bengals can either sign him, trade him or lose a high first round pick. The most likely outcome is that the Bengals finally sign him.

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Where are you getting this? If he could come back (doubtful you can get a court case in that time frame), the Bengals still own his rights for one more year. This isn't baseball. He has zero leverage in this and he's just hurting himself.

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These are uncharted waters. Youre sailing in and not knowing where things might land. Dangerous for both sides and thats why we are here. They didn't think Shemar would do anything. But he should and has.

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As to Shemar what has he actually done? Not signed a contract. That's it. He hasn't stuck it to the man, he hasn't changed anything. Could he, not likely. It's one thing to play chicken with the weak NCAA, it's another to do it with the NFL. Least not before the next CBA comes up. The players have a contract. Only way to change that is to go on strike and force a renegotiation of the CBA. And they're not doing that over a 2nd round pick.

The biggest potential issue here for the entire NFL is if Stewart was to request a waiver from the NCAA to play again and it be granted. It would change everything in terms of control going into the draft and after the draft. If a player doesn't like who drafts him, they could go back to their school and still make money thanks to NIL. If a player can't come to financial terms with the team that drafted him, same situation. The power the players would have if Stewart was granted a waiver would set a precedent that would be catastrophic for the NFL. The NFL won't want to even risk it happening, the potential negative impact would be too great. And before you ask why would the NCAA grant such a request, why not? What does the NCAA have to lose by granting that request? Getting a player like Stewart back in the NCAA wouldn't move the needle much but what if a player who won the Heisman did it? What if the number one overall pick in the draft pulled an Elway but instead of threatening to play baseball they just went back to college? There's gonna be more eyeballs on every single game that player is in the next season. It's also an automatic talking point every single week of the season for the media that would potentially embarrass the NFL and the team that drafted the player. If Stewart doesn't blink then Cincinnati likely caves because they have more to lose.

Except he's not challenging the status quo- he's refusing to sign a contract that contains an arbitrary clause that no one else has had to agree to. He likely won't play for us but the nfl will pressure the bengals to fold

Max Power said:

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The biggest potential issue here for the entire NFL is if Stewart was to request a waiver from the NCAA to play again and it be granted. It would change everything in terms of control going into the draft and after the draft. If a player doesn't like who drafts him, they could go back to their school and still make money thanks to NIL. If a player can't come to financial terms with the team that drafted him, same situation. The power the players would have if Stewart was granted a waiver would set a precedent that would be catastrophic for the NFL. The NFL won't want to even risk it happening, the potential negative impact would be too great. And before you ask why would the NCAA grant such a request, why not? What does the NCAA have to lose by granting that request? Getting a player like Stewart back in the NCAA wouldn't move the needle much but what if a player who won the Heisman did it? What if the number one overall pick in the draft pulled an Elway but instead of threatening to play baseball they just went back to college? There's gonna be more eyeballs on every single game that player is in the next season. It's also an automatic talking point every single week of the season for the media that would potentially embarrass the NFL and the team that drafted the player. If Stewart doesn't blink then Cincinnati likely caves because they have more to lose.

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But as the Bengals still control his rights for another year, there's no catastrophic risk to the NFL. They aren't blinking on this. Bengals may cave on this one clause but the NFL is not worried about people going back to school as long as they still control your rights for another year. You're missing this very important point.

Where was shemar in the tu game, or auburn game….

LB12Diamond said:

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His agent letting him sign it would be horrible for his agent. Good luck getting new clients.

We shall see just how stupid the Bengals are.

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My understanding, admittedly limited, is that the guarantees void w/ breach of contract language is fairly standard among other NFL teams. Issue is it hasn't been standard with the Bengals, so appears now is the time they are trying to change it.

But I don't think (again my understanding) it would be true to say no other players have this language in their contract.

the most cool guy said:

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Shemar will not be playing for the Ags this season. Sorry, guys. Don't be delusional.

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You new to the Zoo? Delusion is the primary currency of trade in these parts.

aggiedad7 said:

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Max Power said:

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The biggest potential issue here for the entire NFL is if Stewart was to request a waiver from the NCAA to play again and it be granted. It would change everything in terms of control going into the draft and after the draft. If a player doesn't like who drafts him, they could go back to their school and still make money thanks to NIL. If a player can't come to financial terms with the team that drafted him, same situation. The power the players would have if Stewart was granted a waiver would set a precedent that would be catastrophic for the NFL. The NFL won't want to even risk it happening, the potential negative impact would be too great. And before you ask why would the NCAA grant such a request, why not? What does the NCAA have to lose by granting that request? Getting a player like Stewart back in the NCAA wouldn't move the needle much but what if a player who won the Heisman did it? What if the number one overall pick in the draft pulled an Elway but instead of threatening to play baseball they just went back to college? There's gonna be more eyeballs on every single game that player is in the next season. It's also an automatic talking point every single week of the season for the media that would potentially embarrass the NFL and the team that drafted the player. If Stewart doesn't blink then Cincinnati likely caves because they have more to lose.

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But as the Bengals still control his rights for another year, there's no catastrophic risk to the NFL. They aren't blinking on this. Bengals may cave on this one clause but the NFL is not worried about people going back to school as long as they still control your rights for another year. You're missing this very important point.

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The NCAA/college football has plenty to lose. The NFL has been hands off on Saturdays because the two leagues play nice with each other. Nor has the NFL made a serious run at minor league football. Each of these is a threat to cfb and why they want to stay in the NFL's good graces.

carl spacklers hat said:

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the most cool guy said:

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Shemar will not be playing for the Ags this season. Sorry, guys. Don't be delusional.

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You new to the Zoo? Delusion is the primary currency of trade in these parts.

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I am not new. I know. I just like to remind everyone that they are being delusional in the hopes they will acknowledge it and change their ways.

As an FYI, Bo Jackson was not traded to the Raiders.

Tampa took him Number 1 in the 86 draft. He did not sign and went to play baseball.

Tampa had 1 year to sign him and when they did not, his rights were relinquished and he was eligible to be drafted again in the 87 draft, which he was, in the 7th round by the Raiders, whom he then signed with and played from 87-90.

Aston04 said:

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aggiedad7 said:

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Max Power said:

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The biggest potential issue here for the entire NFL is if Stewart was to request a waiver from the NCAA to play again and it be granted. It would change everything in terms of control going into the draft and after the draft. If a player doesn't like who drafts him, they could go back to their school and still make money thanks to NIL. If a player can't come to financial terms with the team that drafted him, same situation. The power the players would have if Stewart was granted a waiver would set a precedent that would be catastrophic for the NFL. The NFL won't want to even risk it happening, the potential negative impact would be too great. And before you ask why would the NCAA grant such a request, why not? What does the NCAA have to lose by granting that request? Getting a player like Stewart back in the NCAA wouldn't move the needle much but what if a player who won the Heisman did it? What if the number one overall pick in the draft pulled an Elway but instead of threatening to play baseball they just went back to college? There's gonna be more eyeballs on every single game that player is in the next season. It's also an automatic talking point every single week of the season for the media that would potentially embarrass the NFL and the team that drafted the player. If Stewart doesn't blink then Cincinnati likely caves because they have more to lose.

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But as the Bengals still control his rights for another year, there's no catastrophic risk to the NFL. They aren't blinking on this. Bengals may cave on this one clause but the NFL is not worried about people going back to school as long as they still control your rights for another year. You're missing this very important point.

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The NCAA/college football has plenty to lose. The NFL has been hands off on Saturdays because the two leagues play nice with each other. Nor has the NFL made a serious run at minor league football. Each of these is a threat to cfb and why they want to stay in the NFL's good graces.

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The idea of minor league football is crazy. The NFL gets a free feeder system from college football. No way an NFL minor league would turn a profit.

Mike Elko on Shemar Stewart: "Zero chance that was ever considered."

"Shemar has been in training in College Station, just like a lot of NFL players do... We are excited to see what he does for the Bengals this year."

— TexAgs (@TexAgs) July 17, 2025

Zero chance it was considered? Is that coach speak? I figured a very small chance it would happen but zero that it was considered?

Dimond1968 said:

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Not trying to bag on this player man. But I do not recall a big play he made in three seasons.

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Games Played
37
Total Tackles
65
Tackles for Loss
11
Sacks
4.5
Passes Defended
4
Forced Fumbles
1
Fumble Recoveries
2
Other notable points about Stewart:
He was a highly rated recruit coming out of high school.

At the NFL combine, he had a 4.39 40-yard dash and an 11-foot-2 broad jump according to NBC News.

Compared to other edge rushers drafted in the last decade, his run stop rate and missed tackle rate in college were below average according to The New York Times.

Despite lower sack numbers, he had a strong pressure rate in true pass sets