Shemar Stewart Shines in NFL Preseason Debut with Cincinnati Bengals

It was an interesting offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals, and depending on who you ask, a frustrating one as well.

Drastically needing an upgrade on defense, even though they have last year's league sack leader in Trey Hendrickson on their team, the Bengals selected Texas A&M's Shemar Stewart with the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

But as we all know, it wasn't all smooth sailing like it typically is between a rookie and their team.

After a lengthy holdout process, Stewart finally signed with the team, the last of the first-round picks, and now, Stewart gets to work and truly prove why he was a first round pick.

And boy, has he.

Stewart Impressed In His Preseason Debut Against the Eagles

During the Bengals' first preseason game against the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, Stewart showed why he deserved to be taken as early as he did, only securing one tackle, but making it count as it went for a loss of yardage.

He was also very evident with his pass rushing abilities, as seen here:

A few quality reps by Texas A&M first round pick Shemar Stewart in his preseason debut with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Stewart played 18 snaps against the Philadelphia Eagles, had a TFL and was active in the pass rush: pic.twitter.com/qOqxIzgIh2
— Tony Catalina (@Tony_Catalina) August 9, 2025

It seems that Stewart's defensive assets have carried over from College Station to Cincinnati, at least for now.

Though the defensive lineman was overlooked for his low sack production in college (4.5 in three seasons), his NFL Combine showing, which many likened to that of former No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett, made up for any doubts that scouts may have had, skyrocketing him up the draft boards into the first round.

But shortly after that drafting is where the majority of the offseason drama began for the Cincinnati Bengals, both with Stewart and Hendrickson.

After he reported to the mandatory rookie minicamp, Stewart refused to sign his rookie participation agreement and would not participate in on-field drills and was not shy in his criticism of the team, saying that the Bengals were attempting to insert language that would affect guaranteed money that he would earn in the future.

After originally leaving the minicamp, Stewart and the Bengals finally agreed on a rookie deal, fully guaranteed.

In his three years in College Station, which saw Stewart play in 37 games, he racked up 65 total tackles and two fumble recoveries in addition to his infamous 4.5 sacks.

The Bengals open up their 2025 campaign with their in-state divisional rivals, the Cleveland Browns at the Dawg Pound at 12:00 P.M. CST on Sunday, September 7.