“Whatever the Bengals are doing with a first-round draft pick in an era where the rookie wage scale exists is unprofessional. Cincinnati and Shemar Stewart are at odds over interpretation of language in the contract that could affect Stewart's guaranteed money in his rookie deal, causing the first-round pick to hold out from minicamp.”

The Bengals and their first-round draft pick are in a contract impasse, and things escalated Thursday, with Stewart leaving mandatory minicamp.