November 16, 2025 • 7 mins
Cincinnati Bengals, specifically concerning their rookie defensive end, Shemar Stewart. Stewart, a first-round draft pick, was placed on injured reserve (IR) for a knee injury and will consequently miss a minimum of four weeks of play. The article, written by Ben Baby, notes this timeline is a drastic shift from the team coach's prior "week-to-week" assessment and also mentions Stewart missed time earlier in the season due to an ankle injury and a pre-season contract dispute.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the deep Dive. Today, we're zeroing in on
a single player whose rookie year has become this fascinating
and frankly frustrating case study. We're talking about the Cincinnati
Bengals rookie defensive end Schmar Stewart. They're highly touted a
first round draft pick, and.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
This is such a crucial look. You know, it's not
just about an injury report. It's about how all these
external factors, contract talks, one injury after another, can just
completely derail a player's foundational year.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
That's exactly it. That's our mission today. We really need
to unpack the news that Stuart's now officially on injured
reserve on IR because of a knee injury. Right, and
if you're following the roster moves, you know what that means.
He's sidelined minimum four games. But it's the lead up
to this decision that really makes you raise your eyebrows.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
It's the contrast, isn't it. It's so jarring how quickly
the public timeline for his recovery just shifted. I mean
it felt almost instantaneous.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Exactly rewind. Just twenty four hours before that IR news
dropped the situation sounded way less dire, at least coming
from the Bengal staff.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Oh yeah. On Friday, coach Zach Taylor was asked about
Stuart and Trey Hendrickson and his quote was precisely at
this point today, just keep taking it week to week,
week week, week to week. You know, that's the classic
football phrase for we hope he's back soon. It implies
it's a day to day thing. Maybe he misses a
game two tops, so.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Then Saturday rolls around and boom, he's on IR. That
timetable isn't just altered, it's completely thrown out. They've made
the calculation he's out for at least a month.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
What does that abrupt shift signal to you? Did they
suddenly find something new or was their hand forced here?
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, it signals a couple of things really. One, it
suggests the imaging results, you know, the MRI on that
knee he hurt in Week nine against the Bears came
back way worse than they first thought, okay. Or Two,
it's just a pure roster management move. They know he
can't contribute for a while, so placing him on IR
opens up a valuable spot for someone who can. But
either way you slice it. That pivot from hope to
(01:59):
certainty is it's a sobering moment.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
And this is where we have to really pull back
and look at the context. This knee injury, which is
another four games minimum. It's not happening in a vacuum.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Is it not at all. It's just compounding a rookie
year that was already well, deeply troubled.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
This is actually the second significant injury he's had this season.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yep, he already had an ankle injury that forced him
to miss four games right in the middle of the season.
So you're already looking at four games for the ankle,
now at least four for the knee.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
That's half a season, eight games, half a season gone.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And what makes it so challenging is that this development deficit,
it started way before he even put on a helmet
for an NFL game.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
We have to go back to the summer, the contract dispute.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
The contract dispute, that's arguably the most critical piece of
this whole lost season puzzle. Rookie defensive ends, especially first rounders,
they live and die by the work they put in
during the off season program.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Training camp, and Stuart missed all of that, all of it.
So break that down because I think for some listeners
who might not be deep in the CBA roles, they
might think, why is missing some voluntary, non padded workouts
so critical? I mean, he wasn't even hitting anyone yet.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, but it's invaluable time. The CBA rules prevent players
without a signed contract from participating, mostly for liability reasons.
But those early sessions are where you learn the playbook.
It's when you build chemistry with the guys in your
position group, and maybe most importantly, it's when you get
your body conditioned for the sheer volume of work the
(03:34):
NFL demands.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
So he's not just missing reps, he's missing that entire
physical ramp up. He's going from training on his own
to trying to keep up with guys who have been
in the team's program for months.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Precisely, he's already behind the eight ball on physical readiness,
which you could argue makes him more susceptible to these
kinds of injuries later on.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
It's a vicious cycle.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It is. Lack of preparation can lead to injury, and
then the injury leads to more miss time, which just
digs the whole.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Deep and if we look at the results, you know,
when he has been on the field, you see this
fractured development reflected right there in his performance.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Totally.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
He's appeared in five games, made four starts, so clearly
they wanted him out there when he was healthy. But
the stat line is, well, it's modest for a first
round pick.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
It's very modest. Six total tackles. Yeah, and the number
that just leaps off the page for any defensive end
is zero sacks zero zero. And look, not every d
end is a pure pass rusher, but for a first rounder,
you expect disruption, and he just hasn't been healthy enough
to find any kind of rhythm to create that disruption.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
You have to wonder about the psychological toll here too.
You come in with all this hype, you deal with
the contract stuff, and then every single time you feel
like you're getting going, another injury pops up.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh. Absolutely, it has to impact your confidence. Yeah, A
successful rookie year is built on consistency, on stacking good
days together. For Stuart, every time he takes one step forward,
he's immediately forced two steps back into the train.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
So let's pivot to the bigger picture here. When you
stack it all up the holdout the ankle, now on
the knee. What are the implications for the Bengals. They
invested a huge amount of draft capital in him.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
This is where the cost goes way beyond just one
missed year of production. They spent a first round pick,
a premium asset on a guy they saw as a
cornerstone for their defense. Right when that player loses his
entire introductory phase, it forces the organization to kind of
rethink their immediate future at that position.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
So how challenging will it be for him to recover
this lost time? We always talk about the rookie year
being the biggest learning leap in a player's career. He's
essentially been robbed of that.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
It's exponentially harder to catch up. I mean, think of
it this way. He missed the teaching period in the
spring and summer, then he missed the game time application
period in the fall. He's not going to walk into
camp next year like a second year player.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So he's basically hitting the reset button exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Year two is now his foundational year, his rookie.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Year, which puts an immense amount of pressure on him
for next season, doesn't it. He's not just trying to
prove his worth. He's also fighting the narrative of a lost.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Year, and coaches expect a certain leap between year one
and year two. That's when the game is supposed to
slow down. For Stuart, that leap might be stunted because
the base was never built right in the first place.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
This whole story, it just highlights how fragile that transition
to the NFL can be, even for top talent.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Availability is the best ability in this league. It's a
cliche because it's true, and when a player is consistently unavailable,
it creates a deficit that is almost impossible to overcome.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
So we've covered the news Smar Stewart on ir out
for a minimum of four more weeks, and we've put
it in the context of this just incredibly challenging rookie season.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, a promising career just sort of paused indefinitely, right,
And I think the final thought we should leave you
with connects this all to long term strategy. The real
impact here might not just be the games he misses now,
it's that the cumulative missed time means the Bengals have
essentially lost a crucial evaluation year on a first round pick. So,
how do you as a front office factor in a
(07:08):
lost year one when you're projecting a player's future, What
is the appropriate expectation for a player who really starts
his development in the spring of year two.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
That's the complex question facing the Bengals right now, something
for you to chew on as the league moves on
without him. Thanks for joining us for this steep dive.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
We'll see next time.
Welcome to the deep Dive. Today, we're zeroing in on
a single player whose rookie year has become this fascinating
and frankly frustrating case study. We're talking about the Cincinnati
Bengals rookie defensive end Schmar Stewart. They're highly touted a
first round draft pick, and.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
This is such a crucial look. You know, it's not
just about an injury report. It's about how all these
external factors, contract talks, one injury after another, can just
completely derail a player's foundational year.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
That's exactly it. That's our mission today. We really need
to unpack the news that Stuart's now officially on injured
reserve on IR because of a knee injury. Right, and
if you're following the roster moves, you know what that means.
He's sidelined minimum four games. But it's the lead up
to this decision that really makes you raise your eyebrows.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
It's the contrast, isn't it. It's so jarring how quickly
the public timeline for his recovery just shifted. I mean
it felt almost instantaneous.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Exactly rewind. Just twenty four hours before that IR news
dropped the situation sounded way less dire, at least coming
from the Bengal staff.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Oh yeah. On Friday, coach Zach Taylor was asked about
Stuart and Trey Hendrickson and his quote was precisely at
this point today, just keep taking it week to week,
week week, week to week. You know, that's the classic
football phrase for we hope he's back soon. It implies
it's a day to day thing. Maybe he misses a
game two tops, so.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Then Saturday rolls around and boom, he's on IR. That
timetable isn't just altered, it's completely thrown out. They've made
the calculation he's out for at least a month.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
What does that abrupt shift signal to you? Did they
suddenly find something new or was their hand forced here?
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, it signals a couple of things really. One, it
suggests the imaging results, you know, the MRI on that
knee he hurt in Week nine against the Bears came
back way worse than they first thought, okay. Or Two,
it's just a pure roster management move. They know he
can't contribute for a while, so placing him on IR
opens up a valuable spot for someone who can. But
either way you slice it. That pivot from hope to
(01:59):
certainty is it's a sobering moment.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
And this is where we have to really pull back
and look at the context. This knee injury, which is
another four games minimum. It's not happening in a vacuum.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Is it not at all. It's just compounding a rookie
year that was already well, deeply troubled.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
This is actually the second significant injury he's had this season.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yep, he already had an ankle injury that forced him
to miss four games right in the middle of the season.
So you're already looking at four games for the ankle,
now at least four for the knee.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
That's half a season, eight games, half a season gone.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And what makes it so challenging is that this development deficit,
it started way before he even put on a helmet
for an NFL game.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
We have to go back to the summer, the contract dispute.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
The contract dispute, that's arguably the most critical piece of
this whole lost season puzzle. Rookie defensive ends, especially first rounders,
they live and die by the work they put in
during the off season program.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Training camp, and Stuart missed all of that, all of it.
So break that down because I think for some listeners
who might not be deep in the CBA roles, they
might think, why is missing some voluntary, non padded workouts
so critical? I mean, he wasn't even hitting anyone yet.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, but it's invaluable time. The CBA rules prevent players
without a signed contract from participating, mostly for liability reasons.
But those early sessions are where you learn the playbook.
It's when you build chemistry with the guys in your
position group, and maybe most importantly, it's when you get
your body conditioned for the sheer volume of work the
(03:34):
NFL demands.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
So he's not just missing reps, he's missing that entire
physical ramp up. He's going from training on his own
to trying to keep up with guys who have been
in the team's program for months.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Precisely, he's already behind the eight ball on physical readiness,
which you could argue makes him more susceptible to these
kinds of injuries later on.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
It's a vicious cycle.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It is. Lack of preparation can lead to injury, and
then the injury leads to more miss time, which just
digs the whole.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Deep and if we look at the results, you know,
when he has been on the field, you see this
fractured development reflected right there in his performance.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Totally.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
He's appeared in five games, made four starts, so clearly
they wanted him out there when he was healthy. But
the stat line is, well, it's modest for a first
round pick.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
It's very modest. Six total tackles. Yeah, and the number
that just leaps off the page for any defensive end
is zero sacks zero zero. And look, not every d
end is a pure pass rusher, but for a first rounder,
you expect disruption, and he just hasn't been healthy enough
to find any kind of rhythm to create that disruption.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
You have to wonder about the psychological toll here too.
You come in with all this hype, you deal with
the contract stuff, and then every single time you feel
like you're getting going, another injury pops up.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh. Absolutely, it has to impact your confidence. Yeah, A
successful rookie year is built on consistency, on stacking good
days together. For Stuart, every time he takes one step forward,
he's immediately forced two steps back into the train.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
So let's pivot to the bigger picture here. When you
stack it all up the holdout the ankle, now on
the knee. What are the implications for the Bengals. They
invested a huge amount of draft capital in him.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
This is where the cost goes way beyond just one
missed year of production. They spent a first round pick,
a premium asset on a guy they saw as a
cornerstone for their defense. Right when that player loses his
entire introductory phase, it forces the organization to kind of
rethink their immediate future at that position.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
So how challenging will it be for him to recover
this lost time? We always talk about the rookie year
being the biggest learning leap in a player's career. He's
essentially been robbed of that.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
It's exponentially harder to catch up. I mean, think of
it this way. He missed the teaching period in the
spring and summer, then he missed the game time application
period in the fall. He's not going to walk into
camp next year like a second year player.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So he's basically hitting the reset button exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Year two is now his foundational year, his rookie.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Year, which puts an immense amount of pressure on him
for next season, doesn't it. He's not just trying to
prove his worth. He's also fighting the narrative of a lost.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Year, and coaches expect a certain leap between year one
and year two. That's when the game is supposed to
slow down. For Stuart, that leap might be stunted because
the base was never built right in the first place.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
This whole story, it just highlights how fragile that transition
to the NFL can be, even for top talent.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Availability is the best ability in this league. It's a
cliche because it's true, and when a player is consistently unavailable,
it creates a deficit that is almost impossible to overcome.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
So we've covered the news Smar Stewart on ir out
for a minimum of four more weeks, and we've put
it in the context of this just incredibly challenging rookie season.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, a promising career just sort of paused indefinitely, right,
And I think the final thought we should leave you
with connects this all to long term strategy. The real
impact here might not just be the games he misses now,
it's that the cumulative missed time means the Bengals have
essentially lost a crucial evaluation year on a first round pick. So,
how do you as a front office factor in a
(07:08):
lost year one when you're projecting a player's future, What
is the appropriate expectation for a player who really starts
his development in the spring of year two.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
That's the complex question facing the Bengals right now, something
for you to chew on as the league moves on
without him. Thanks for joining us for this steep dive.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
We'll see next time.
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