Tough season for key Bengals rookie is only getting tougher following Zac Taylor's latest injury update

Cincinnati now projects to be without its two starting edge defenders this week, which would put Myles Murphy and Joseph Ossai in those roles. Murphy and Ossai have been getting roughly equal playing time to Stewart in recent weeks while Hendrickson has been mostly sidelined since Week 6.

As for Stewart, the Bengals' first-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft, this is his second injury of his rookie season, which has only gone in the wrong direction since it began.

Shemar Stewart's rookie season takes another downturn

Stewart is on track to miss as many games as he's played thus far for Cincinnati. He played in the first two games of the year before an ankle injury sidelined him for a month. His knee injury is now likely to sideline him for the next two weeks barring an unexpected change in tone from his head coach.

The impact has also not been there when he's on the field. Stewart has rushed the passer 109 times and has mustered just eight pressures according to Pro Football Focus. His pass rush win rate of 8.6% ranks fifth on the team among players with at least 100 pass-rushing reps, and 11th out of 23 rookies with as many opportunities.

He's also only hit the QB once.

Shemar Stewart's rookie season stats

• 5 games played
• 6 tackles
• 1 quarterback hit
• 0 tackles for loss
• 0 sacks

Despite his status as a first-round pick, Stewart was billed as a player in need of development. His offseason contract dispute with the Bengals robbed him much of that from the time he was drafted to the first days of training camp, but there is no development like reps on the field during game days.

Stewart's injuries are getting in the way of that as Cincinnati desperately searches for answers on defense.

This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Nov 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.