Shemar Stewart Catches Break With Injury News

One of the low points of Cincinnati Bengals camp so far was what appeared to be a brutal injury for 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart. However, according to a tweet by Adam Schefter, Stewart has seemingly avoided any ligament damage, suffering only a hyperextended knee. He will still miss time and receive treatment for it, but that is a far better outcome than missing the entire season with a knee injury.

Stewart is going to be under a lot of pressure to perform this year after he had a rough rookie season. First, he had the offseason holdout where he was trying to get certain things in and out of his contract. That already frustrated fans and got him off on the wrong foot, missing offseason workouts and the first week of training camp.

Then Stewart played in the first two games of the season before injuring his ankle and missing multiple weeks. He returned mid-season to play in three more games before again missing time with a knee issue. Contract and injury issues caused Stewart to really have a poor rookie year. 

Stewart was looking to be a key rotational piece for the Bengals this season. With them losing Trey Hendrickson in the offseason, offseason addition Boye Mafe, Myles Murphy, Stewart, and rookie Cashius Howell were going to have to step up and get after the quarterback. The injury to Stewart sets back his progress, but also hurts the depth in the Bengals' edge room. Unless the Bengals sign a veteran to come in, they are going to have to rely on Cedric Johnson, Isaiah Foskey, or Antwaun Powell-Ryland to step up and be that fourth edge until Stewart is healthy. 

Now, while this certainly is a setback for Stewart and the Bengals, it certainly could have been much worse. The video of the injury looked brutal, and Stewart coming out with just a hyperextended knee and no ligament damage is the best-case scenario. The Bengals now need Stewart to get healthy and come back ready to show fans that picking him in the first round wasn’t a mistake.