In 2025, the Cincinnati Bengals selected Shemar Stewart with the 17th overall pick while his Texas A&M teammate Nic Scourton went 51st overall to the Carolina Panthers.
To say that their careers took a drastic fork in the road would be putting it lightly, as their rookie seasons signaled their careers heading in starkly different directions.
However, the Bengals could try to reunite the former Texas A&M teammates with a trade that sends Stewart to Carolina. It's an admittedly improbable deal. Stewart had a rocky rookie season and went down with an injury in training camp. Would the Bengals give up on him so early?
While it seems reckless on some level, letting Stewart loose could free up some valuable real estate on Cincinnati’s stacked roster, especially on the deep, revamped defensive line.
Before we say never
We know that this trade will not happen. Trading away a player drafted in the first round just one year later is extremely rare. However, there is precedent. And the Miami Dolphins were involved in each of the most recent cases.
The rival Pittsburgh Steelers were involved in such a trade when they traded a first-round pick to Miami for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2019. Fitzpatrick was the 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft.
The most recent time it happened was one year after the Fitzpatrick deal, when the Tennessee Titans traded offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson, the 29th overall pick in the 2020 draft, to the Dolphins.
Before those examples, another Bengals rival, the Cleveland Browns, traded running back Trent Richardson, the third overall pick in the 2012 draft, to the Indianapolis Colts in 2013 for a 2014 first-round pick.
No, the Bengals will not trade Shemar Stewart. But prior to saying "never," it's worth noting that we've seen this type of trade before. Twice, with two AFC North teams, no less.
Injuries have opened the door to a crazy solution
Unfortunately, Scourton will not be able to build on his promising rookie season, in which he recorded five sacks, 47 tackles, and seven tackles for loss, after tearing his ACL on the first day of Carolina’s training camp.
But that opens the door for the Panthers to try to get something from another team, whether that is a player who may not make their final 53-man roster, a high-value waiver-wire acquisition, or a team looking for a way out of a disappointing decision.
Stewart is also dealing with an injury after narrowly avoiding a catastrophic one when he hyperextended his knee during training camp practice. He will be out for some time, but head coach Zac Taylor expects him back sooner rather than later.
Stewart’s trade value may never be higher
While it may be wild to say that the Bengals should trade their first-round draft pick from a year ago, the further we get away from the 2025 draft, the more Stewart’s trade value decreases.
Stewart was invited to last year’s University talent acquisition exercise. Somehow, there was enough excitement around him just one year ago to make one believe Cincinnati could generate significant interest if it made it known that he was available.
Or, the Bengals could do what they usually do and wait to let him walk at the end of his contract for no compensation. And the way things are looking, not much in on-field production either.
With Scourton out for the season, the Panthers could use another big name or a recent high draft pick at the position to add to their roster.
Carolina hosted Stewart for a top-30 visit ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. They obviously had serious interest in the athletically freakish Texas A&M prospect. Maybe they still do.
The Panthers would get a player whom some still believe has tremendous upside and star potential while they wait for Scourton to return in 2027. And once that happens, they could spend all of next offseason discussing how these former college teammates will once again form a tandem worthy of picks in the first and second rounds of the draft.
The national media would see Carolina as forward-thinking. Meanwhile, they will do what they do with Cincinnati because they have already made up their minds about the Bengals. What’s another week of the national media talking about the dysfunction of Cincinnati’s front office?
Salary cap implications wouldn’t kill this idea
They do not, but if the Bengals wanted to release Stewart, they would incur a $10.3 million dead cap hit, which would be unconscionable for them to absorb. However, according to Over the Cap, trading Stewart could result in a much more reasonable $2.6 million dead cap penalty. Still, it would require the other team to take on the remaining salary for a risky prospect.
The Bengals are already paying $10.4 million in dead cap money for just Trey Hendrickson ($5.6M), Logan Wilson ($4M), and Jermaine Burton ($526,690). That number will rise once the final cuts begin.
Adding $2.6 million after trading Stewart won’t be ideal for an organization that does not like paying people who no longer work for the team. But what organization would?
Nevertheless, Cincinnati could take on that cap hit, since they are $17.4 million under the cap, according to Spotrac.
Stewart is carrying a $4.3 million cap hit for the 2026 season. The Panthers could absorb that number, as they have $10.3 million in cap space.
Another factor is Stewart’s impact on the future salary cap. The Bengals still must reach an extension with DJ Turner, Dax Hill, and Chase Brown. Losing one or more of them, partly because they are still paying for Stewart, would not be ideal.
We wouldn’t expect a blockbuster return
The Panthers, like most NFL teams this time of year, are confident that they can have a successful season without their young, up-and-coming outside linebacker. However, they will need someone to step up in his stead.
Even if one of the other players on the Carolina squad serves as an adequate replacement, the team could look to a potential trade partner to help fill the void on the depth chart left by Scourton’s injury.
We wouldn’t expect a first-round pick in return from the Panthers, as we saw in the deals that Cleveland and Pittsburgh made. However, a Day 2 draft pick would be nice. Perhaps a backup tackle or a linebacker.
So while Cincinnati figures out how many defensive linemen to take and who gets the 10th or 11th spot, an unsuspected trade that reunites college teammates could be the answer.
Could be. But probably won’t be.
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