The Cincinnati Bengals selected Shemar Stewart from the Texas A&M Aggies with the 17th pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Stewart had a productive college football career last season. However, it hasn't been smooth sailing ever since.The Bengals and Stewart remain deadlocked in contract negotiations, and the highly rated defensive end remains an unsigned draft pick. NFL analyst Mike Florio seems to have decrypted the Bengals' mindset in the lead-up to training camp."Although the Cincinnati Bengals are cheap, this one is not about money. It is about power," Florio said via Pro Football Talk. "It is about who is in charge. 'We are, you’re not.""The Cincinnati Bengals are also stubborn," Florio continued. "They will expect (Shamar) Stewart to cave. Maybe he will or maybe he won’t. Maybe he will try to play college football. Maybe he’ll sit out the year and re-enter the draft. The problem is that the Cincinnati Bengals don’t sufficiently care about working something out. They want Stewart to surrender."They are prioritizing that power over winning. If they truly cared about winning, they would come up with a win-win that would get Stewart in camp and get him ready to help the Bengals not stumble out of the gates. Again."The Bengals drafted Stewart as a potential replacement for star defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who is in the middle of a contract standoff with the AFC giants.However, the longer Shemar Stewart remains unsigned, the worse the Bengals look around the league. Mike Florio believes that it's all a power play for the Bengals, despite them being at risk of losing a high-potential rookie and star defensive player in the lead-up to the 2025 campaign.Shemar Stewart and Bengals deadlocked over future guaranteesAccording to Yahoo Sports, Shemar Stewart and the Bengals are yet to agree on a new deal due to a conflict over future guarantees. The report states that the Bengals aim to set a precedent with rookie deals that allow the team to void future guaranteed money.However, Stewart and his camp are understandably not on board with the move. While speaking to Jay Morrison of Sports Illustrated earlier in July, Stewart said:"I'm 100 percent right. I am not asking for nothing y'all have never done before. But in y'all case, y'all just want to win arguments (more) than winning more games."The Texas A&M Aggies product is eligible for a four-year, $18.9 million deal with a fifth-year team option as a first-round selection. All that's left is for both parties to agree on a fitting compromise ahead of training camp.