As the 2025 NFL season inches closer, there remains a high-profile looming rookie contract holdout.
Pass rusher Shemar Stewart, who was selected by the Bengals in the first round of April’s NFL Draft, still hasn’t participated in any team activities, holding out for tweaked language in his rookie deal.
With that situation ongoing for months, reports then indicated on Tuesday that Stewart has been practicing at Texas A&M facilities, where he spent three seasons and became one of the best defensive prospects in the country. That led to the question — could Stewart potentially return to the Aggies for the 2025 season, abandoning his NFL duties with no contract signed?
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Here’s what to know about Stewart’s options to play football this upcoming season if he can’t agree to a deal with Cincinnati.
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Shemar Stewart holdout, explained
Stewart’s holdout isn’t only about the money he’ll receive over his rookie deal. The reason he’s skipped workouts while speaking to the media about contract negotiations is because the Bengals are attempting to introduce newer language in his deal regarding a “default clause,” per former NFL executive Andrew Brandt.
The clause would allow Cincinnati to void future guarantees if Stewart were to get in any trouble, whether for conduct on or off the field. It would virtually give the Bengals at least a little bit of room to get out of his contract, if necessary.
The reason Stewart has been adamant about not having the clause is that neither of the Bengals’ past two first-rounders had that tidbit in their contracts.
“I’m 100 percent right,” Stewart said.”I’m not asking for nothing y’all have never done before, but in y’all case, y’all just want to win an argument instead of winning more games.”
The stalemate has continued for months between the two sides, adding yet another contract holdout to the Bengals’ growing list of stars to do so over the past year, including Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson.
Can Shemar Stewart return to college?
On Monday, CBS Sports’ Bud Elliott said on the “Cover 3 Podcast” that Stewart has been “fully involved in workouts” with Texas A&M’s football team, which he departed for the NFL Draft after the 2024 season. Elliott said that a source told him that “Shemar might end up back here” with the Aggies, and “he could try to come back and play again this season and go into the draft again next year.”
wait… so Bengals 1st round pick Shemar Stewart left the team & went back to school to practice with Texas A&M?
and he might not play this year in the NFL, return to college instead and then enter the 2026 NFL draft??? pic.twitter.com/WUdN6vDHzx
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 15, 2025
However, there are NCAA rules that forbid players from returning to college after they’ve been drafted. Unless Stewart took legal action, potentially challenging those eligibility rules regarding the draft. Hypothetically, if Stewart successfully challenged and was able to return to the Aggies (or another college team) in 2025, then he could re-enter the NFL Draft in 2026.
Assuming Stewart does not pursue legal action, though, he has a few other options outside of simply settling his contract dispute with the Bengals.
For one, if his holdout lasted until the new league year next March, he could re-enter the draft. Cincinnati would hold his rights until that point, and there has never been a real case quite like that scenario, but technically, Stewart could not play football at all in 2025, stay in shape, then re-enter the 2026 NFL Draft. If he did that, the Bengals would not be allowed to draft him again. If a rookie doesn’t sign their deal by the Tuesday following Week 10 of the season, then they cannot play at all that season.
Perhaps slightly more likely is that Stewart could ask for a trade from the Bengals, seeking out another team to give him the contract language he’s desiring. However, that would have to come to fruition by early August, as NFL rules say that a team can only trade a rookie at least 30 days from the start of the regular season.
So, based on current NCAA/NFL rules, there are three routes for Stewart during his holdout, and returning to college isn’t one of them. He could agree to his Bengals deal, request (and potentially be granted) a trade, or hold out throughout the entire 2025 season and re-enter the 2026 draft.
The only other way for Stewart to gain some leverage would be legally challenging the NCAA rules that forbid a player from returning to college after declaring for the draft — something that’s not completely inconceivable with the many legal changes going on in college sports right now. However, unless that step is taken, the pass rusher cannot return to Texas A&M or any college team.
Plus, other reports suggested Tuesday that Stewart isn’t technically practicing with the Aggies’ squad; rather using the team’s facilities to prepare for the NFL. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway reported that Stewart, who lives in Texas, is “training at A&M by himself using their facilities (very common) to get ready for the upcoming NFL season” and is “not with the Texas A&M team.”
For now, the most likely scenario remains Stewart and the Bengals coming to terms and putting it in the past. A lot of hoops would have to be jumped through for him to go back to college football.
Who is Shemar Stewart’s agent?
Stewart’s agent is Zac Hiller, who’s represented him throughout the contract situation. Hiller spoke about the ongoing holdout recently, saying on SiriusXM NFL Radio that his job is to “protect the players.”
“Simply put, Shemar would, of course, love for his contract to be as protective as the rest of his Bengals teammates in the past. And, simply put, the way the contract currently reads is not as protective,” Hiller said, per BengalsWire. “If you want to make changes to your precedent, it should be a negotiation. It should be give and take. It shouldn’t just be, ‘Hey, we’re changing this and sign it or go scratch.