The Cincinnati Bengals’ rookie minicamp is in the books, but Shemar Stewart and Demetrius Knight Jr. are not. Their top two draft picks sat out as they work on completing their rookie contracts. Many rookies do not complete their contracts before minicamp, but few actually decline to practice. They sign a standard waiver called a Rookie Participation Agreement that protects them from injury.

Stewart and Knight both declined to do so, without elaborating on why. Stewart merely said that he “just decided not to sign those papers”, but emphasized that he was “doing everything else”. He also said he hopes to have his Bengals contract signed by Monday. “I would love to be a part of the team”, he added. “I hate being on the sideline looking at everybody else do work”.

While Knight also sat out, he did take mental reps from a distance while the Bengals practiced. To the best of my knowledge, he did not publicly comment on his contract status nor his decision not to practice.

No doubt both Stewart and Knight will sign their rookie contracts shortly and be on the field with their Bengals teammates. Their cases draw attention, though, because their decision is a rare one. And because they are on the same team, and because that team is the Bengals. But could this be the beginning of a new aspect of rookie “empowerment” going forward?

The rookies coming into the NFL today went through the NIL era of college football. They are used to playing for pay, and have more business acumen than ever. Their agents are also more versed in the culture of the day, including the business culture of the NFL. We could increasingly see rookies’ agents advising them not to practice until they have their contracts signed. In other words, this isn’t just a Bengals thing, but it’s a funny story from a Steelers perspective.

To that end, the Steelers completed contracts with six of their seven draft picks. The only one remaining is first-round pick Derrick Harmon—they didn’t have a second-round pick. But we know that, unlike the Bengals’ top picks, he did participate at yesterday’s rookie minicamp. There is video evidence, via Amanda Godsey, as you can see below.

Asked about Shemar Stewart and Demetrius Knight not participating, Bengals HC Zac Taylor just chalked it up to “working through their contracts”. These days, there are relatively few things that hold up rookie contracts. No doubt, they will be resolved in short order. And it’s not clear that they missed anything particularly significant, anyway. They were around to see and hear everything, they just didn’t move their bodies in unison with other rookies.