The Cincinnati Bengals are involved in a pair of high-profile disputes with their defensive linemen. First-round selection Shemar Stewart remains unsigned and held out of mandatory minicamp over language in his rookie contract.
The franchise is also at odds with star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks last season and is in search of a contract extension that more accurately reflects his on-field performance.
Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin spoke on the situations involving the linemen on Monday, according to one prominent insider.
“Duke Tobin on Trey Hendrickson: ‘Trey is an important part of our team. He’s under contract and we expect him to be here.’ On Shemar Stewart: ‘I think Shemar needs to be here. I think he can be an important of your team… a team we believe is a championship caliber team… I’m not going to blame Shemar… He’s paying for the advice he’s getting,'” reported Mike Petraglia.
Fans reacted to the statements on social media.
“You don’t treat important pieces the way theyve treated Trey. This is a joke. Tobin is a puppet for an org that has no clue what it is doing and just ties to never speak out of turn. It’s a joke at this point,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Bengals gotta be the worst organization,” another fan added.
“Worst ran team in the NFL,’ someone else wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see how the situations resolve themselves.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.