Shemar Stewart Carted Off in Bengals Camp Opener: Knee Injury Threatens Cincinnati’s Defensive Line Plans

Cincinnati’s 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart was carted off the practice field Wednesday during the Bengals’ opening training camp session, unable to put any weight on his left leg after his knee buckled in an 11-on-11 drill. Trainers worked on the defensive end for several minutes before deciding a cart was necessary to get him off the turf and back to the facility for further evaluation.

Stewart, the No. 17 overall selection out of Texas A&M last spring, was in the middle of a rebound bid after a rookie season that never got going. Camp had barely started when the injury hit, adding another gut-punch to a defensive line that was counting on him to take a real step forward in Year 2.

How the Injury Unfolded

The play came early — just the second rep of the Bengals’ first 11-on-11 period of camp. Stewart’s foot planted awkwardly and his left knee hyperextended, sending him to the ground behind the drill. He stayed down as medical staff attended to him, and after roughly five minutes of evaluation, he attempted to push up and put pressure on the leg. He couldn’t. Teammates gathered around to check on him, with at least one report describing him as visibly upset as he was loaded onto the cart. He left the practice field wearing a brace and using crutches, with imaging at Paycor Stadium expected to determine the full extent of the damage. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Bengals had not released an official diagnosis.

A Rookie Year Already Defined by the Injury Report

This is not new territory for Stewart. His rookie season was disrupted from the start by a lengthy contract standoff that kept him out of minicamp and the beginning of training camp. Once he got on the field, the injuries piled up — an ankle issue cost him a chunk of September, and a knee injury suffered in a Week 9 loss to the Bears eventually landed him on injured reserve for the back half of the season. In total, Stewart appeared in just eight games as a rookie, finishing with 11 tackles, one sack and one quarterback hit — modest production for a top-20 pick who was expected to anchor part of Cincinnati’s edge-rushing rotation. A healthy, uninterrupted camp was supposed to be step one in changing that trajectory. Instead, the Bengals are once again bracing for uncertainty around one of their highest-profile young defenders.

What It Means for Bengals Betting Markets

Cincinnati has entered the summer as one of the more heavily bet AFC North futures, with sportsbooks pricing the Bengals around +184 to +194 to win the division and hanging their season win total near 10.5, reflecting real belief in a roster considered a playoff contender. Those numbers were set with the expectation that the defensive front would take a step forward behind Stewart and fellow young pass rusher Myles Murphy. Any indication that Stewart is facing another extended absence — let alone a significant knee injury — is the kind of camp news that can nudge win-total and division-odds markets, since Cincinnati’s pass rush was already considered a relative soft spot compared to its offense. Bettors tracking those lines should watch for line movement over the next 24-48 hours as more clarity emerges on the imaging results; sportsbooks tend to react quickly to training-camp injury news involving projected starters, even before an official timeline is announced. Until the Bengals confirm the severity, this stands as a situation to monitor rather than a market-moving certainty — but the direction of any adjustment, if Stewart’s injury proves serious, would almost certainly trend toward longer odds on Cincinnati’s division and win-total futures given how thin the edge-rushing depth chart already looked entering camp.