The bye week is over, and the Cincinnati Bengals are scheduled for a trip to Baltimore where they’ll play their second AFC North game of the season. The Bengals and Ravens are both in position to push for the lead in the division in the coming weeks, and everyone in both buildings is currently focusing all their attention on how they can escape Week 7 with a win.
At least everyone in Cincinnati and Baltimore.
According to one report, there are some teams looking at a former first-round pick on the Bengals’
roster as a possible trade target before the November 10 deadline.
“One surprise name a few teams are tracking is Cincinnati edge rusher Shemar Stewart,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on Thursday. “The 2025 first-round pick is not a factor in the team’s rotation right now. He has played 17 defensive snaps, well behind the total for the fourth defensive end, Cedric Johnson (83). And rookie second-rounder Cashius Howell has been impressive. Cincinnati typically doesn’t move its young draft picks, but it would be surprising if the Bengals haven’t received inquiries on Stewart, whose upside remains high.”
Stewart suffered a hyperextended left knee at the very beginning of training camp, which forced the Bengals’ defense to move on to start the season without him. Now the Bengals are leaving the first quarter of the season behind tied for the fourth-most sacks so far this season (17). They not only signed Boye Mafe, but they completely reshaped the defensive front with the additions of Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, and Howell in the draft. They’ve accomplished this without Stewart’s help, and if a team reaches out with interest, it wouldn’t hurt to listen.
Stewart was selected with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2025 draft as a developmental pass rusher, but he hasn’t been developed, and the Bengals don’t seem to be developing him. If they feel they can make a deep run in the postseason and get something for a guy who isn’t really contributing, then they could possibly have their cake and eat it too.
Still, the odds of a trade actually happening are slim.
