The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens in a wild 35-13 blowout that saw Joe Burrow and the offense completely shut out in the first half. It’s not often you see a team pull off a comeback and a blowout in the same game.
Buried beneath the headlines, though, was the fact that 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart was a healthy scratch, meaning the Bengals decided they had a better chance of winning without him on the field.
That’s not normal for a guy selected No. 17 overall.
Stewart has two
sacks to his name so far in his career but has played just 17 snaps this season. He missed the first few weeks after suffering a hyperextended knee at the very beginning of training camp, but he’s healthy now. Despite his freakish athleticism, the Bengals still decided they didn’t need him to help rush the passer against Baltimore.
That decision could also reflect the confidence they have in rookie second-round pick Cashius Howell, who brought down Tyler Huntley in the backfield on Sunday for the first sack of his young career.
Howell was the Bengals’ first selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, coming in the second round after the team traded its first-round pick to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence. He’s been showing flashes of his potential throughout the season, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that both Howell and former sixth-round pick Cedric Johnson have moved ahead of Stewart on the depth chart.
What’s interesting about the situation is that Stewart and Howell, both former Texas A&M edge rushers, are practically physical opposites.
When the Bengals used their first-round pick on Stewart, they drafted the player they believed he could become, not necessarily the player he already was. At 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, Stewart has the prototypical size the Bengals covet in their 4-3 edge rushers, along with an almost absurd combination of strength and athleticism.
What he didn’t have was production.
Despite all those physical gifts, Stewart recorded just 4.5 sacks over his three-year college career at Texas A&M.
Howell, meanwhile, is a little smaller than the edge rushers the Bengals typically target in the draft. At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, he doesn’t quite fit their traditional mold.
What he does have, however, is production.
Howell racked up 11.5 sacks during the 2025 season for the Aggies, proving he could consistently get into opposing backfields. When he was still available in the second round, it was a pleasant surprise to see the Bengals step outside their comfort zone and select a productive pass rusher who didn’t necessarily check all their usual boxes.
So far, that decision appears to be paying off.
According to PFF, Howell ranks fifth among rookie pass rushers with 13 total pressures. He’s also played 158 snaps this season compared to Stewart’s 17.
That’s a pretty telling difference, especially considering Stewart was selected 17th overall just one year earlier.
There are reports that multiple teams are keeping an eye on Stewart ahead of the trade deadline, hoping they can develop him into the player the Bengals envisioned when they drafted him. And if Stewart is going to spend his Sundays watching from the sidelines in street clothes, why shouldn’t the Bengals see what they can get for him?
It’s still early in Stewart’s career, and his physical tools haven’t gone anywhere. There’s certainly a chance he could develop into a productive NFL pass rusher. But right now, the Bengals appear to have more confidence in a second-round rookie and a former sixth-round pick than they do in a player they invested the 17th overall selection in just a year ago.
If Howell and Johnson continue producing, the Bengals may become even more comfortable with the idea of moving on from Stewart.
And considering how much the Bengals invested in him, that would be a pretty remarkable development.
