Speculation swirled this week that Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart could be a potential trade deadline target due to his diminutive role with the team that drafted him 17th overall in 2025. Sure looks like that buzz is well-founded in light of what happened Sunday.
Or rather, what didn't happen. Stewart was not even active for the Bengals' 35-13 romp over the Ravens in Baltimore. That's unacceptable for a second-year first-round pick any way you slice it.
So yeah. Trade Shemar away, Duke Tobin...if you can.
Stewart was a healthy scratch on a day where Bengals had zero injury designations
At least ol' Dukie boy didn't double down on his clear mistake with Stewart in the draft. He made Boye Mafe the Bengals' highest-paid free agent. Cashius Howell, who had his first NFL sack in Week 7, was Stewart's teammate at Texas A&M and Cincinnati's top draft pick this year.
Mafe was credited with 1.5 sacks on Tyler Huntley, bringing his season total to 4.5. The man is a beast and just what the Bengals needed in the post-Trey Hendrickson era.
Speaking of Trey, quite a quiet afternoon for him. Some disruptive plays in the first half but not much thereafter. Shemar was supposed to replace him in theory. Looks like Mafe is faring better than either of them had Hendrickson somehow stayed in Cincy.
Shemar ain't for long in the Queen City I can tell you that much. Or at least he shouldn't be. Why keep him if you're not gonna play him?
Mike Green's sack on Joe Burrow was the cherry on top of Shemar's inactivity
Look, I will admit, I'm an NFL Draft junkie but i was not dialed in enough to know the off-field/character concerns surrounding James Pearce Jr. and Mike Green coming into the '25 draft. All I knew was they were miles better as prospects than Shemar at a dire position of need. I knew the Bengals would draft Shemar anyway. And they did.
At least in Pearce's case, he'll probably be back for the Madrid game against the Bengals ironically enough, but he had his whole legal saga. Green was disappointing as a rookie, though.
...But Green had a sack on Burrow on Sunday and I couldn't help but laugh as Shemar just stood helpless on the sideline. Quite the double whammy eh? Almost like, you know, if the Bengals had nailed that Stewart pick, they could've drafted Jacob Rodriguez to fix their clear ongoing linebacker issue!
Can Shemar Stewart even be traded?
I'm skeptical that there's a trade market for Shemar to begin with. I hope there is. Please, somebody take him off our hands. He's a waste of space on the roster at this point.
Cedric Johnson provides plenty of juice as a reserve pass rusher and ain't half bad against the run either. Howell is still coming into his own, and while his short arms concern me, he has an advanced arsenal of pass rush moves.
You know what Shemar has? No bag. Maybe a negative bag in terms of his pass rushing arsenal. And for such a freak athlete he should be able to set a vicious edge. Not so much!
I'd like to believe Stewart has improved. But nah. If he had, his athleticism is too good to keep off the field, much less keep in the holster as a healthy scratch.
In conclusion: Shemar Stewart...kick rocks man. Best of luck elsewhere but Cincinnati ain't the place for you.
And that's OK. I don't think it's all on Shemar. The coaches have failed him to some degree. And the front office decided not to settle for mediocrity on the defensive line. That might've cost Shemar some valuable development, but whatever. He should've shown more by now, bottom line, and he hasn't.
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