The Cincinnati Bengals found a way to sign both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to lucrative multi-year extensions this offseason, but the franchise is still dealing with multiple contract hold-ins or holdouts. The NFL's reigning sack leader, Trey Hendrickson, is famously awaiting more money or a change of scenery, but first-round pick pass rusher Shemar Stewart has not been participating in the Bengals' offseason program either.

Why is the No. 17 overall pick skipping all on-field work? Pro Football Talk reports that the Bengals and Stewart are haggling over language in his rookie contract related to the potential voiding of future guarantees. 

Cincinnati reportedly wants to include a phrase in the contract that causes a default in the current year to trigger a default in all remaining years. Pro Football Talk also reports that this phrase is not included in the rookie contract signed by offensive tackle Amarius Mims, who was the Bengals' first-round pick last year.

"I'm not asking for anything crazy," Stewart told ESPN last week. "I'm not even asking for nothing. I just want things to be consistent. I just want consistent language as in the past contracts. I just won't practice until I get that."

Stewart was regarded as one of the top pass rushers in this class. While he recorded just 4.5 sacks during his three seasons at Texas A&M, Stewart registered 65 pressures over the past two years, which was tied for eighth in the SEC. 

As we near June, the Bengals aren't exactly in an ideal situation with both of their prospective starting defensive ends unhappy with their contracts. Cincinnati's mandatory minicamp begins on June 10.