What the 49ers Should Offer the Bengals for Shemar Stewart

The 49ers should take advantage of the situation.

Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Shemar Stewart is introduced before the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It's Father's Day, and the Cincinnati Bengals still haven't signed their first-round pick, Shemar Stewart. Here's what the 49ers should do.

Call up Cincinnati. Offer them a third-round pick in 2026 and a fifth-round in 2027 for Stewart, and tell them the third-round pick can become a second-round pick depending on whether he hits certain performance achievements.

Because unlike the Bengals, the 49ers definitely can afford him, even though they have a league-leading $92 million dead cap space. That's because they also have more than $46 million in effective cap space, which is the second most in the NFL. And they're worth roughly $8.5 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, the Bengals seem cheap compared to other NFL organizations. Sure, paid Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but they currently are haggling with first-team All Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson and they're trying get Stewart to sign a contract that he probably shouldn't sign.

That's because the Bengals can void all of the guarantees in his contract if he "makes any public comment . . . that breaches Player’s obligation of loyalty to Club and/or undermines the public’s respect for the Club, Club coaches, or Club management," according to Pro Football Talk.

That means they can take guaranteed money away from him if he says something publicly about the Bengals that they deem unflattering. Ridiculous. His agent can't let him sign that deal. No player should have to agree to that.

So the 49ers should take advantage of the situation. If the Bengals don't want to do what it takes to sign a top-20 pick, send him to the 49ers. They'll take care of him.