”Just sit back and watch me work.” That was the reaction of Shemar Stewart earlier when critics mocked his college sack statistics—just 4.5 in three years at Texas A&M. For some, it was bravado. For the Bengals, it was faith. They believed they had a raw but explosive weapon that could become a game-changer off the edge. Now, following a nail-biting week of negotiations, the first-year defensive end is officially under contract with an $18 million deal that came within a hair of not happening.
On Thursday, Stewart’s father, Coach Moe, finally spoke out after the much-awaited deal. Talking to Cincinnati Enquirer‘s Kelsey Conway, Moe indicated that the Bengals made a key change this week. “The Bengals indicated a willingness to compromise this week to get something done,” he stated. That strategy apparently resonated with Stewart’s team. “They decided they would compromise also,” Moe said to Kelsey, adding that the two sides met in the middle after a standoff.
The holdup had centered on incentive structures and guarantees, but both parties ended up getting outside of their lines to get the deal done. With training camp underway, Stewart is expected to report immediately and start chiseling out his role. While the college stat line had a lot of people skeptical, the Bengals believe in what is ahead, and Stewart, true to form, isn’t wasting any time defending himself. He’s already said it once: just sit back and watch.
Now signed, Stewart steps into Al Golden’s defense with high expectations and little margin for error after a quiet college stat line.
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