Bengals To Activate Shemar Stewart From IR
While the Bengals are already eliminated from postseason contention, the team will be getting some defensive reinforcement for the stretch run. According to ESPN’s Ben Baby, defensive end Shemar Stewart will be activated from injured reserve for this weekend’s game against the Dolphins.
[RELATED: Bengals Designate Shemar Stewart To Return From IR]
Stewart returned to practice earlier this month but wasn’t activated in time for Week 15. The first-round pick apparently made enough progress at practice over the past few days to earn his activation from injured reserve.
The defensive end suffered a knee injury back in Week 9 that ended up shelving him for more than a month. According to Baby, Stewart suffered a torn PCL, although it wasn’t severe enough to require surgery. The Texas A&M product’s rookie campaign has been derailed by injuries. He missed a chunk of games early in the season thanks to an ankle sprain, and after returning for three contests, he was sidelined again with the PCL injury.
This has been a tumultuous season overall for Stewart, who was engaged in a publicized dispute over his rookie contract that kept him off the field for offseason workouts and the first week of training camp. Considered a raw prospect coming out of college, the absences have had a natural impact on the player’s on-field performance. In five games this season, Stewart has been limited to only six stops and a QB hit. Still, the edge rusher is confident he can make a mark on the organization before the 2025 campaign is through.
“I just want to go out there and make an impact — whether it’s doing my job or all the extraordinary stats,” Stewart said today (via Baby).
The Bengals have been without Trey Hendrickson for the past month-plus, opening the door for Joseph Ossai and Myles Murphy to earn the bulk of the snaps at defensive end. That duo will likely continue to lead the depth chart even with Stewart back on the field, but the rookie should earn more than a cameo on defense over the season’s final few weeks.
Bengals Designate Shemar Stewart To Return From IR
The Bengals designated rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart to return from injured reserve on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Ben Baby.
Stewart was placed on injured reserve on November 15 with a knee injury. He is returning to practice as soon as he is eligible and could play on Sunday against the Ravens, according to head coach Zac Taylor.
Stewart, the No. 17 overall pick in April’s draft, has dealt with a number of bumps in his rookie year. First was a contract dispute that sidelined him for offseason workouts and the first week of training camp. He played in the first two games of the regular season before an ankle sprain sidelined him for four weeks. He returned in Week 7 but went down against in Week 9 and missed another month.
Those absences may have hindered Stewart out of the game. The Texas A&M product was considered a raw prospect coming out of college who would need significant development to unlock his physical potential. But the stop-and-start nature of his rookie season seem to have impacted his performance. Stewart has just six tackles and one quarterback hit in five games and 177 offensive snaps this year as part of the Bengals’ overall lackluster defensive effort.
On the other hand, the Bengals need every bit of help they can get to keep their season alive. They host the Ravens this weekend after handily winning their first matchup on Thanksgiving. In that game, Cincinnati turned in one of their best performances of the season, forcing five turnovers and holding Baltimore to just 14 points, all without their starting defensive end duo of Stewart and Trey Hendrickson. If at least one is back in the fold on Sunday, the Bengals defense could have another strong day and keep the team’s playoff hopes alive.
Stewart will have 21 days to practice with the team before he must be activated to the 53-man roster or revert to season-ending injured reserve.
Bengals To Place DE Shemar Stewart On IR
The Bengals are placing rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart on IR with a knee injury, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports. Stewart will miss a minimum of four games. He’ll be eligible to return in Week 15.
Stewart, whom the Bengals chose 17th overall out of Texas A&M, made headlines after the draft during a lengthy contract dispute. After a protracted battle over default language in his contract, the 22-year-old finally inked his first NFL deal on July 26. The agreement came after the Bengals agreed to adjust his signing bonus payment schedule.
Stewart, who didn’t practice with the Bengals at all before signing, has gotten off to a slow start in the pros. A polarizing prospect who totaled just 4.5 sacks in 37 college games, Stewart hasn’t recorded any in his first five contests (four starts) with the Bengals. He previously missed four games as a result of a Week 2 ankle injury.
When healthy enough to play, Stewart has amassed 177 defensive snaps and picked up six tackles, including a personal-best three in a loss to the Bears in Week 9. With the Bengals on a bye last week, the Chicago game will go down as Stewart’s last for a while.
Trying to keep their faint playoff hopes alive, the 3-6 Bengals are heading into a huge matchup with the AFC North-leading Steelers (5-4) on Sunday. The Bengals’ last-ranked defense will have to make do without Stewart and superstar pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, who will miss his third straight game with a hip/pelvis injury. Joseph Ossai, Myles Murphy, and Cameron Sample will serve as the Bengals’ top options at defensive end.
AFC Injury Updates: Stewart, Worthy, Szmyt
Despite missing most of his first offseason because of a contract dispute, Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart has impressed with his early contributions in the first weeks of the season. Unfortunately, despite his hard work to be ready to contribute early, Stewart could be looking at a multi-week absence, according to what he told Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Per The Enquirer, Stewart is “dealing with a low ankle sprain and could be out a few weeks.” The first-round pick out of Texas A&M was just outpaced by starter Joseph Ossai across from Trey Hendrickson in Week 1, but Week 2 saw Stewart earn his first start and continue to work a strong snap share before getting sidelined with an injury in the fourth quarter. Now Myles Murphy will have to step up for a few games in Stewart’s absence.
While Stewart has been ruled out, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt is listed as doubtful for this weekend. Taylor-Britt seems to have tweaked a hamstring injury that had held him out for an extended portion of training camp. Cincinnati likely won’t risk anything with something as finicky as a hamstring injury.
Here are a couple other injury updates from across the AFC:
- The Chiefs are desperately hoping to see some reinforcements at wide receiver arrive soon. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, wide receiver Xavier Worthy has been classified as “50-50” to return this weekend for the team’s trip to New York. Worthy was a limited participant in Thursday and Friday practices last week and has ramped up his workload as he attempts overcome an ailing shoulder. He’s still been limited and listed as questionable this week, but there appears to be some optimism that a return could come soon.
- Per Zac Jackson of The Athletic, Browns kicker Andre Szmyt was sent to get an MRI performed today after he “felt something” during practice. No free agent kickers have been called for workouts or signed to the practice squad, though it only occurred earlier today, so it may just have been precautionary. The team’s efforts to bring in other kicking options tomorrow should tell us what we need to know about Szmyt’s health and availability for the weekend.
Bengals Sign First-Round DE Shemar Stewart
JULY 26: Stewart officially put pen to paper today, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Inking the deal on an off day for the team, Stewart will officially rejoin his teammates on the field tomorrow.
JULY 25: The Bengals have cut their contract issues with defensive ends from two to one. At long last, the AFC North team has its first-round pick under contract.
Shemar Stewart agreed to terms on his four-year rookie deal Friday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. The sides had been engaged in a dispute about default language, and the impasse kept Stewart from working out during OTAs or minicamp. After the stalemate continued into training camp, it is now over. The Bengals bent on language to finally sign Stewart, as Pelissero adds an adjustment was made.
Cincinnati attempted to build new language into its rookie contracts that would void all guarantees in future years if a player does something to void guarantees in any year of the contract, as opposed to only voiding the guarantees in the year that something occurred. Stewart voiced displeasure in being the guinea pig here and refused to sign, becoming the last first-rounder to put pen to paper this year. After this deal’s completion, only Browns second-round running back Quinshon Judkins — due to a domestic violence arrest — is unsigned.
The above-referenced adjustment, however, does not constitute a win for the Stewart camp on the core issue. Rather, the Bengals agreed to adjust Stewart’s signing bonus payment schedule, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports. That evidently convinced Stewart being the guinea pig for the Bengals’ default language quest was acceptable. Second-rounder Demetrius Knight also objected to the Bengals’ void language, but he ended up accepting it in exchange for receiving 75% of his signing bonus upfront.
More specifically, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports $500K in Stewart’s bonus will be paid upfront rather than in December. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway, the team also greenlit a $550K bump to bring Stewart into camp. That would be the more notable development, as it would stand to bring a true raise for the disgruntled player in exchange for his agreement on the much-discussed default matter.
Unsigned draftees generally participate in OTAs and minicamps by signing waivers, but Stewart expressed issues with the Bengals on that front as well. He has yet to practice since the team chose him 17th overall. The Texas A&M product and the Bengals had been at odds for months on this matter, and while Cincinnati’s concession is not yet known, the team will have its top draft choice in uniform moving forward.
This closes one of the strangest negotiating chapters in the rookie-scale contract era (2011-present). First-rounders had been in the fully guaranteed contract bracket for a few years now; at No. 17, Stewart was locked into a fully guaranteed $18.97MM contract when the Bengals drafted him. The team’s crusade over minor default language, which prompted VP of player personnel Duke Tobin to criticize Stewart’s agent this week, brought scrutiny — especially as the Bengals navigate their Trey Hendrickson impasse. As a result, the team has not had its two highest-profile D-ends at work throughout the offseason.
Stewart had been training at his alma mater ahead of training camp — no, an actual Aggies return (with an aim at a 2026 draft reentrance) was not a thing — but will be tasked with developing quickly in Al Golden‘s defense. The Bengals have Hendrickson engaged in a holdout, already stripping away their top defender. Having Stewart out of action for this long compounded the issue, but the team at least has two first-rounders — Stewart and 2023 draftee Myles Murphy — at work.
The team drafted Stewart weeks after Sam Hubbard‘s retirement. He arrived for a team coming off a woeful defensive season, a campaign that prompted the Bengals to fire six-year DC Lou Anarumo and hire Golden. Stewart also checks in as a potential Hendrickson successor, in the event the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up and the Bengals cannot agree on an extension, or insurance against Murphy failing to make strides after two unremarkable years.
The Bengals are going on projection with Stewart, who totaled 1.5 sacks in each of his three college seasons. In correctly tabbing Stewart as the Bengals’ pick in his PFR mock draft, Ely Allen indicated scouts were enamored with the project pass rusher’s build, balance and bend. Cincinnati will finally have a chance to see their prized investment’s skills firsthand.
Bengals’ Mike Brown, Duke Tobin Address Contract Standoffs
On the eve of training camp beginning, Bengals owner Mike Brown and de facto general manager Duke Tobin spoke to the media. To no surprise, the status of the ongoing contract standoffs with Trey Hendrickson and first-round rookie Shemar Stewart were a main topic of discussion.
Hendrickson has been among the numerous high-profile edge rushers seeking a new deal this offseason. Some – including T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby – have inked lucrative extensions while others are still in negotiations. Contract talks with Hendrickson’s camp have been on and off, and with camp looming an artificial deadline exists for an agreement to be reached.
“I’m not going to go into details of negotiation but I think we’re in a good spot and hopefully something is done soon,” Brown said when speaking about the Hendrickson situation (via Jay Morrison of Sports Illustrated). The reigning sack leader is not expected to have an agreement in place by the start of camp this week, and a holdout lasting into the regular season has been on the table for some time.
Unlike last offseason, the Bengals granted Hendrickson permission to seek a trade amidst contract talks. Offers came in but did not reach the team’s asking price. Cincinnati has not yet submitted a known offer averaging $35MM per year (a figure which would now rank fifth amongst pass rushers in the wake of Watt’s new Steelers accord). The team reportedly prefers a one-year extension which would keep the 30-year-old in place through 2026, whereas Hendrickson is seeking longer term on his third career contract. It will be interesting to see if Brown’s optimistic tone winds up being a sign that a deal is close.
On the Stewart front, meanwhile, little if anything has changed. The Texas A&M product did not report with the team’s other rookies to training camp, something which comes as no surprise given his absence from on-field work during the spring. The heart of the issue between Stewart and the Bengals remains contract language which would void all remaining guarantees on his deal in the event of an off-field issue. Historically, the team has not used such language and Stewart continues to hold out for a pact matching the ones signed by Cincinnati’s two most recent first-round picks.
“I’m not going to blame Shemar,” Tobin said (via The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.) in relation to the stance taken by agent Zac Hiller. “He is listening to the advice he is paying for. I don’t understand or believe or agree with the advice but I’m not the one paying for it. If I felt we were treating him unfairly as it relates to all the other draft picks in this year’s draft then maybe it would be a different story. But we are not. I don’t really understand where things are there.”
Hiller responded by informing Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio that Tobin has not been involved in contract talks with Stewart. As animosity between team and player continues, ESPN’s Ben Baby reports the percentage of second-round pick Demetrius Knight‘s signing bonus being paid up front – something which was no doubt a factor in an agreement being reached – has not yet been offered to Stewart. Neither side appears willing to budge at this point with padded practices set to commence.
In 2025, the Bengals will aim to return to the postseason with an offense widely seen as being among the league’s best. Their defense remains a question mark entering the campaign, though, and the unit will no doubt remain the subject of scrutiny until deals with Hendrickson and Stewart are complete.
Bengals, Second-Round LB Demetrius Knight Agree To Rookie Deal
1:04pm: Knight’s signing bonus includes the same upfront payout percentage as past Bengals second-rounders, according to Conway, indicating that the team was holding out on his payment schedule in addition to the disputed default/void language.
Stewart appears to be fighting the same terms from Cincinnati, but it is unclear if he would be willing to make the same deal as Knight.
11:04am: The Bengals have reached an agreement with second-round pick Demetrius Knight on a four-year rookie contract, according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
The deal comes on the day that the team’s rookies are due to report to Cincinnati for training camp. Knight is expected to compete with fourth-round rookie Barrett Carter and veteran Oren Burks for the right to start at linebacker alongside Logan Wilson.
Almost 80% of Knight’s deal is fully guaranteed, and he is also the first No. 49 pick in league history to receive guaranteed salary in Year 4. For context, Kris Jenkins, the No. 49 pick in 2024 (coincidentally, also by the Bengals), had less than 70% of his rookie contract fully guaranteed, per Spotrac.
Every member of Cincinnati’s 2025 draft class is now under contract except for first-round pick Shemar Stewart, who did not participate in spring practices and remains a holdout over default and void language in his contract.
Knight was opposed to the same default and void language as Stewart, but accepted it in his final contract in exchange for receiving 75% of his signing bonus at signing, according to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Despite the name, signing bonuses do not automatically pay out in full when a player puts pen to paper. Instead, payment schedules are a term to be negotiated along with the rest of the contract. Rather than remove or change the language Knight objected to, the Bengals simply offered him an improvement elsewhere in the deal (which they could have done all along).
The team has not made same offer to Stewart, per Conway, but since it resolved the impasse with Knight, it is probably worth a try. As of now, however, the Bengals’ negotiations with Stewart have made “no progress,” according to Schultz, and the former Texas A&M standout remains the only first-rounder leaguewide who has yet to sign his rookie deal.
Here’s a look at the rest of the Bengals’ 2025 draft class:
- Round 1, No. 17: Shemar Stewart (DE, Texas A&M)
- Round 2, No. 49: Demetrius Knight (LB, South Carolina) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 81: Dylan Fairchild (G, Georgia) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 119: Barrett Carter (LB, Clemson) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 153: Jalen Rivers (T, Miami) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 193: Tahj Brooks (RB, Texas Tech) (signed)
Shemar Stewart Doing Individual Workouts At Texas A&M
JULY 18: Aggies head coach Mike Elko confirmed (via ESPN’s Ben Baby) Stewart has no intention of attempting to return to college for the coming season. With today marking the reporting date for Bengals rookies, though, Stewart is of course not expected to be present as his contract standoff continues.
JULY 16: Bengals first-round edge rusher Shemar Stewart has been working out at Texas A&M’s facilities, as first reported by 247 Sports’ Ben Elliott (via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnnati Enquirer).
That has stirred speculation that he could be seeking a return to his alma mater amid his rookie contract dispute with the Bengals. Conway clarified that Stewart is only using Texas A&M’s facilities on an individual basis and is not participating in any team activities. In fact, NCAA rules prevent Stewart from returning to college for the 2026 season after declaring for the 2025 draft. Instead, he is trying to stay in shape and prepare for the NFL season with the hopes of working out his contract before Week 1.
At the moment, however, the Bengals seem poised to take their standoffs with Stewart and All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson into training camp and potentially the regular season. Cincinnati has until the end of Week 11 to reach an agreement with Stewart, per Yahoo Sports’ Jason Owens. If they don’t, Stewart won’t be eligible to play at all this season.
However, the Bengals would still control his rights until next year’s draft. If they cannot sign Stewart by then, he can enter his name into the 2026 draft, and the Bengals would not be allowed to select him a second time.
It still seems unlikely that Stewart would go down that route given what he stands to lose. Spending a year away from the field would be especially damaging to a raw prospect with untapped physical potential. Sure, Stewart can continue to get stronger and faster, but the technical parts of his game that require significant improvement would be harder to address without full-team practices and games. He would also enter the draft a year older, which could potentially drop him out of the first round where his total value and guaranteed money would be significantly lower.
Bengals, Shemar Stewart Remain At Impasse On Rookie Deal
Bengals rookies are supposed to report to the team’s facilities this coming Saturday, with Wednesday standing as the start date for training camp, so the next few days will be crucial for getting past the contract situation between the team and first-round defensive end Shemar Stewart. According to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer, “there has been no progress made on” either side of the negotiations.
To recap quickly, Cincinnati is attempting to build new language into its rookie contracts that would void all guarantees in future years if a player does something to void guarantees in any year of the contract, as opposed to only voiding the guarantees in the year that something occurred. Stewart does not appreciate being the guinea pig for the Bengals’ innovative concept, one that can really only stand to hurt him. This has led to an extreme holdout that could still end in several interesting ways.
Stewart’s argument stems from the fact that last year’s first-round pick, Amarius Mims, was taken 18th overall, and Mims doesn’t have that language in his contract. Stewart was taken 17th overall back in April, so how does it make sense that he would receive worse terms in a deal than Mims? Stewart and his representation have challenged the Bengals, saying that, as this is a negotiation, and Cincinnati is asking Stewart to accept a not insignificant concession, the team should be will to offer him something in return.
Unfortunately, rookie contracts are pretty set in stone; the slots have predetermined values, and for a while now, first-round contracts have all been fully guaranteed. Pretty much any negotiating power is typically in the payment structure of the rookie’s signing bonus. Per Conway, the Bengals typically push out the signing bonus in two installments: one on the day the rookie signs the contract and the other 60 days later. She believes that, were Cincinatti willing to agree to pay the whole signing bonus all at once, that would be enough of a concession for Stewart to seriously consider signing the deal.
Unfortunately, though, the Bengals have not made such an offer. In fact, they’ve made zero offers, sticking to their guns about the contract they’d already extended as the final version. Stewart has refused to accept this and left the state, as a result, returning to his alma mater. He’s working out at the Texas A&M facility at the moment, since he cannot practice with the team without a contract.
As Nikhil Mehta wrote earlier today, the Bengals still control Stewart’s rights until next year’s draft. Stewart can refuse to sign and participate in the 2026 NFL Draft, in which the Bengals would not be allowed to select him again, but in that case, he wouldn’t be able to play in college in 2025 and would just be sitting for a year outside of the game. For a player who was drafted more for his potential than his production, sitting out a year could be detrimental for his development.
The best case for both sides is to work out a deal and get Stewart on the field. Stewart needs every bit of work he can get as a developing rookie, and the Bengals need every piece they have to improve a defense that cost them a lot of success last season. It will likely come down to which side breaks first, and with neither party willing to cede any ground, we remain at an impasse.
33 Unsigned 2025 Draft Picks Remain
The NFL has hit a logjam and is collectively lagging far behind where it normally is at this point in the offseason. Two years ago, the league hit its last 30 unsigned players before July. Last year, teams were signing rookies as quickly as they were drafting them, and only 10 players remained unsigned by June 17. A couple intriguing situations have caused pens to go quiet in 2025, and as a result, here are the 33 remaining unsigned rookies of the 2025 NFL Draft:
Round 1:
- No. 17 (Bengals): Shemar Stewart (DE, Texas A&M)
- No. 20 (Broncos): Jahdae Barron (CB, Texas)
Round 2:
- No. 35 (Seahawks): Nick Emmanwori (S, South Carolina)
- No. 36 (Browns): Quinshon Judkins (RB, Ohio State)
- No. 37 (Dolphins): Jonah Savaiinaea (G, Arizona)
- No. 38 (Patriots): TreVeyon Henderson (RB, Ohio State)
- No. 39 (Bears): Luther Burden (WR, Missouri)
- No. 40 (Saints): Tyler Shough (QB, Louisville)
- No. 41 (Bills): T.J. Sanders (DT, South Carolina)
- No. 42 (Jets): Mason Taylor (TE, LSU)
- No. 43 (49ers): Alfred Collins (DT, Texas)
- No. 44 (Cowboys): Donovan Ezeiruaku (DE, Boston College)
- No. 45 (Colts): JT Tuimoloau (DE, Ohio State)
- No. 46 (Rams): Terrance Ferguson (TE, Oregon)
- No. 47 (Cardinals): Will Johnson (CB, Michigan)
- No. 48 (Texans): Aireontae Ersery (T, Minnesota)
- No. 49 (Bengals): Demetrius Knight (LB, South Carolina)
- No. 50 (Seahawks): Elijah Arroyo (TE, Miami)
- No. 51 (Panthers): Nic Scourton (OLB, Texas A&M)
- No. 52 (Titans): Oluwafemi Oladejo (OLB, UCLA)
- No. 53 (Buccaneers): Benjamin Morrison (CB, Notre Dame)
- No. 54 (Packers): Anthony Belton, T (NC State)
- No. 55 (Chargers): Tre Harris (WR, Ole Miss)
- No. 56 (Bears): Ozzy Trapilo (T, Boston College)
- No. 57 (Lions): Tate Ratledge (G, Georgia)
- No. 58 (Raiders): Jack Bech (WR, TCU)
- No. 59 (Ravens): Mike Green (OLB, Marshall)
- No. 60 (Broncos): RJ Harvey (RB, Central Florida)
- No. 61 (Commanders): Trey Amos (CB, Ole Miss)
- No. 62 (Bears): Shemar Turner (DT, Texas A&M)
- No. 63 (Chiefs): Omarr Norman-Lott (DT, Tennessee)
- No. 64 (Eagles): Andrew Mukuba (S, Texas)
Round 4:
- No. 107 (Jaguars): Jack Kiser (LB, Notre Dame)
In recent years, a trend has seen second-rounders lasting the longest, but what we’re seeing this year is unheard of. As rookies have been getting a bit of flexibility in negotiating structures of guarantees, getting deals done has become a waiting game of seeing what surrounding picks are getting for comparison. Last year, teams breezed through the issue, but 2025 has seen significantly increased troubles.
Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins set the tone by signing a fully guaranteed rookie contract, the first ever for a second-round selection. The next day, the Browns were essentially forced to do the same for Carson Schwesinger, picked one slot before Higgins. Shough, the Saints rookie quarterback, is seeking the same deal, hoping that his elevated status as a passer will help convince New Orleans to continue making history. Shough’s efforts have caused every pick between him and Higgins to stand pat, waiting to see if they get to ask for full guarantees from their teams, as well. This would be a drastic development, as last year’s 40th overall pick, Cooper DeJean, received only two fully guaranteed years with only partial guarantees in Year 3.
The biggest story outside of the second round is that of the standoff between Stewart and the Bengals. Stewart has issues with what he perceives as a lack of protection in Cincinnati’s offer that causes a contract default in any year to void any guarantees in all the following years. It’s a new precedent the team is trying to set, and Stewart seems intent on preventing them from doing so.
It will be interesting to see which standoff gets settled first: Stewart’s or Shough’s. The latter standoff ending would likely set off a domino reaction of second-round deals that would help a large number of teams close out their rookie classes. To this point, only four NFL teams have done so.