Shemar Stewart made more news for his contract holdout than for anything he did on the field his rookie season after the Bengals selected him in the first round.
Stewart’s 2025 season was marred by missed time, because of the contract dispute, as well as injuries. He had a lingering ankle injury early in the season and a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Week 9.
He does not project as a starter for the Bengals with free-agent signee Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy expected to hold those spots. But the Bengals still have big expectations for Stewart, who played eight games with five starts last season.
“His development is [a priority for us](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7161221/2026/03/31/bengals-zac-taylor-defense-offseason/),” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said, via Paul Dehner of TheAthletic.com. “We’re not trying to do anything to stunt the growth there. We’re trying to do everything we can for him to continue to grow and play a major role for us. So signing Boye really doesn’t do anything negatively for Shemar, because we still have high expectations for him.”
Taylor was asked if the Bengals have enough snaps for Stewart to be a big contributor. He played 53 percent of the snaps in the eight games he appeared in last season.
“If you look at all the great defensive lines that have gone far in the playoffs, they’re loaded up front with depth,” Taylor said. “Yeah, there are starters, but there are also guys that are going to play you 40-50 snaps a game. . . . I think there’s plenty \[of snaps\], especially depending on games, whether you see more 12 personnel and you’re in base defense.
“We feel like we’re configured the right way now to get the right people on the field. Even if we’re in nickel, there’s plenty of opportunity for all those guys to play. I don’t worry about any of that.”
Stewart totaled one sack, four quarterback hits and 11 tackles last season.