Cincinnati Bengals' 2024 season is in jeopardy as DE Trey Hendrickson and first-round pick Shemar Stewart hold out. Can the defense recover from this crisis?
StatPro NFL Beat Reporter
Just when Bengals fans thought the defense couldn't face more uncertainty, the team's offseason plans have hit a serious wall. The pass rush, a key area targeted for improvement, is now in jeopardy as first-round pick Shemar Stewart remains unsigned and star defensive end Trey Hendrickson continues his own holdout. Instead of preparing for the season in Cincinnati, the 17th overall pick is back training at Texas A&M, creating a defensive nightmare before training camp has even begun.
'You'd love to have none, but that's life in the NFL.' - Joe Burrow on the team's holdout situations.
The situation with first-round pick Shemar Stewart has escalated from a procedural delay to a full-blown crisis. A dispute over contract language has left the promising pass rusher unsigned, and the Bengals are now staring at the unthinkable: the possibility of Stewart re-entering the NFL Draft or even returning to Texas A&M. The standoff is drawing uncomfortable comparisons to Joey Bosa's 31-day rookie holdout with the Chargers in 2016. Every day Stewart spends training with his college team is a day lost for a Bengals defense that desperately needs him to be the bookend to Trey Hendrickson.
The Stewart drama is amplified by the continued absence of Trey Hendrickson, the team's 2024 sack leader. With both cornerstone pass rushers missing, a unit that ranked near the bottom of the league last season is now in critical condition. The problem is compounded by injuries, with fellow defensive ends B.J. Hill (foot) and Cameron Sample (Achilles) already listed as questionable for Week 1. The Bengals' biggest weakness is getting weaker by the day, raising serious questions about their ability to generate any pressure on opposing quarterbacks this fall.
While the contract disputes dominate the headlines, other stories are capturing the attention of Who Dey Nation. Former Bengals legends Chad Johnson and Andrew Hawkins passionately defended ex-QB Teddy Bridgewater on social media after his suspension for providing 'impermissible benefits' to high school athletes, with Hawkins calling the ruling 'bulls---.' It's another layer of offseason noise for a team trying to focus. Quarterback Joe Burrow acknowledged the challenge, noting that while having one holdout is better than the two they dealt with last year, the ideal number is zero. The team is trying to block out the distractions, but the empty lockers on the defensive line are impossible to ignore.
As training camp looms, the Bengals are facing a self-inflicted crisis on defense. The front office is officially on the clock. Resolving the Shemar Stewart standoff and getting Trey Hendrickson back in the building are no longer just offseason goals; they are absolute necessities if Cincinnati hopes to field a competitive defense and avoid squandering another year of Joe Burrow's prime.
