Bengals DE Shemar Stewart Avoided Major Knee Injury

According to Ian Rapoport, Bengals DE Shemar Stewart avoided a major knee injury despite a scary scene in practice on Wednesday.  

Stewart was carted off the field from Wednesday’s practice after suffering an injury to his left leg. However, Rapoport says Stewart just hyperextended his knee and avoided major ligament damage. 

“He’s good,” Rapoport’s source texted. 

Bengals HC Zac Taylor added that Stewart will miss several weeks as he recovers but this is still a best-case scenario considering it looked like Stewart might be done for the year, per Jay Morrison.

Stewart received a fully guaranteed four-year contract from the Bengals after initially holding out for a better deal from the team, but was limited by an ankle injury suffered in Week 2. After returning from that, he suffered another lower-body injury and went on IR last season. 

Stewart, 22, was a five-star recruit who was the ninth-ranked player and the third-ranked defensive lineman in the 2022 recruiting class. He committed to Texas A&M and became a full-time starter in his junior year, earning third-team All-SEC honors.

The Bengals used the No. 17 overall pick in round one on Stewart. He was projected to sign a four-year, $18,942,634 contract that includes a $10,416,460 signing bonus. The contract includes a fifth-year option for the team to pick up in 2028.

In 2025, Stewart appeared in eight games and recorded 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and one pass defense.