Shemar Stewart’s path back to the field is suddenly looking a lot clearer, and that’s a big development for a Bengals defensive line that already has plenty of pieces to rotate through.
The 2025 first-round pick was a full participant in practice over the last two days, according to Thursday’s injury report via The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., putting him in position to potentially make his season debut Sunday against the Texans in Houston. Stewart said he’s eager to get back into the mix, telling reporters in the locker room, via CLNSCincy.com’s Mike Petragila:
"I'm very anxious. Sometimes it's hard watching the party from outside.
I just want to work my way back in there. I just want to earn it. ...
So we just put in our full effort in making sure we get better each and every day, and be the players the team needs on Sunday."
That’s a welcome turn after a rookie year that never really got off the ground. Injuries kept interrupting Stewart’s season, and when he was on the field, the results weren’t pretty. He arrived in the league with enormous upside and only 4.5 sacks in three seasons at Texas A&M, then managed just one sack in seven games last year.
A fresh injury in training camp made his 2026 outlook feel cloudy, but now the tone has changed. Stewart is back to full work, and the Bengals are at least considering how much they want to use him right away.
That’s where the decision gets interesting. Cincinnati also has rookie second-round pick Cashius Howell in the defensive end mix, though Howell is more of a “Viper” hybrid defender and backs up Boye Mafe at that spot. Stewart, by contrast, is a more direct edge-setter and bull-rusher, closer in style to Myles Murphy, and he’d be playing a more traditional role.
The question is whether the Bengals should ease him in or let him go. There’s a case for leaning on every fresh body they have, especially against Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud, who folded like a cheap suit under duress in the playoffs when he threw four INTs against the Patriots.
If Stewart lines up most often across from Trent Brown, the ex-Bengal and Amarius Mims’ brief, behemoth predecessor, there’s at least a chance for some immediate impact. His speed could win a few clean reps, and if he’s healthy enough for something close to a starter’s workload, there’s a real argument for giving him that kind of run.
There’s also no shortage of belief in what Stewart can become. He was a first-round pick for a reason, and his raw athleticism, plus whatever technical progress he made before the camp injury, gives him a chance to be a real problem for an offense not built to welcome that kind of force.
The physical tools are obvious. Stewart was drafted in round 1 pick 17 in the 2025 draft class, and he scored a 10.00 #RAS out of a possible 10.00, ranking 1 out of 2029 DE from 1987 to 2025.
Even if his return ends up waiting another week until Pittsburgh, the Bengals have at least gotten to the encouraging part: Stewart is trending the right way. And if he starts putting it together, Cincinnati’s defensive line gets a whole lot scarier.
In Other News...
Bengals Face Two Immediate Week 2 Questions Fans Can't Ignore
Joe Burrows back tightness has become the most immediate health storyline for Cincinnati as the Bengals turn the page to Week 2 against the Texans. Burrow is expected to play, which matters plenty for a team that needs its offense in rhythm early, but it also puts the spotlight on how he feels going into another division-sized test and how the Bengals manage the week around a quarterback who is never far from the center of the conversation.
There is also a quieter development worth watching on the defensive side, where rookie end Cashius Howell is just getting started after being a recent second-round pick. Teammate Shemar Stewart has already pointed him toward the grind ahead, which is the kind of advice that usually lands differently once the games start to pile up and the leagues physical demands become impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Ownership Is Sending A Clear Message About This Franchise
For all the noise around roster building and contract strategy, the Bengals financial picture says plenty about how this franchise sees itself now. Forbes recently ranked the Brown family 224th on its list of the 400 richest people in America, putting their net worth at $7.6 billion, while Elizabeth Blackburn has helped push the teams brand forward and broaden the use of Paycor Stadium as part of a more modern, visible operation around the club.
The bigger shift is how much the organization has grown since introducing its Ring of Honor in 2021, with the franchises value rising by roughly $5.325 billion in that span. Joe Burrows arrival as the face of the team has clearly affected spending and strategy, and the message from ownership has been hard to miss: the Bengals are acting like a franchise that expects to stay in the conversation, not merely visit it. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Already Feel Better About One Big Free Agency Bet
The Bengals got exactly the kind of early return they hoped for when Boye Mafe arrived from Seattle in free agency. In Cincinnatis 33-27 win over the Buccaneers in the 2026 season opener, the defensive end made his presence felt all over the field, logging a sack, forcing a fumble and recovering one in a performance that quickly justified the organizations investment.
Mafes debut also came with the sort of pressure the Bengals were counting on him to handle, and he answered it with a disruptive night that showed why he was viewed as such an important addition to the defensive line. PFF was high on the outing too, adding another layer to a strong first impression, but the bigger question now is whether this was the start of a trend or just an opening flash. [Read more 🡒]