'Look Forward To Getting Him Back In The Fold' - Zac Taylor Addresses Shemar Stewart Leaving Mandatory Minicamp

  Zac Taylor met with the media on Thursday to conclude 2025 mandatory minicamp and Shemar Stewart was the lead topic after he didn't practice all spring and left the minicamp sessions early.

Taylor noted they are working through all they can with Stewart and hope to have him on the field for training camp. He did not give any in-depth answers on the "positive" conversations he's had with the rookie.

"I think for all the rookies, you'd like them to be on the field, but certainly there are things that happen over the course of an NFL career, and this is one of them right now," Taylor said about Stewart. "So he's been in the meetings. He's been positive in that way. He's been learning. He's been a good learner, and we look forward to getting him back on the field quickly."

Taylor is controlling what he can control—while noting the players are trying to protect the locker room ahead of a tweaked training camp with more morning practices.

"There's education that happens with all the rookies that we do our best to educate them," Taylor said about Stewart's jab at the organization on Tuesday. "Number one, we want to protect our team in our locker room. And so there's some things I understand when there's frustration there, but that's how he chose to do it, and that's his prerogative; and we look forward to getting him back in the fold."

Cincinnati starts training camp on July 23, with all eyes on Stewart and Trey Hendrickson to see if they show up, with or without newly signed contracts.