The Cincinnati Bengals are already battling adversities before the preseason even arrives. On an 11-on-11 drill at the training camp, second-year defensive end Shemar Stewart has suffered what appears to be a very serious knee injury.

“Bengals first-round pick Shemar Stewart from 2025 being carted off the field,” Bengals’ beat reporter Kelsey Conway shared on X. “He was unable to put any weight on his left leg, leaving the field. Medical staff looked at him on the field briefly and then called the cart to take him inside.”

In videos of the injury, Stewart’s knee appears to be horribly bent in the wrong direction as he goes down on the ground. Per reports from The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., Stewart went down on the best first 11-on-11 drill, and had to hobble off the field “favoring his left knee.” While Stewart did try to continue working, he failed to put pressure on his right knee and was seen being carted off.

Stewart, the 17th overall pick from the 2025 Draft, has had a really tough time staying upright in Cincy. He’s already suffered a right ankle injury in Week 2 last season against the Jaguars, missing four games in the process. He then suffered a knee injury in Week 9 against the Bears that landed him on the injury reserve. He came back for the last three games of the season. However, this latest injury once again raises questions about his durability.

Shortly after the injury update, former NFL head doctor David J. Chao looked at the clip and posted a very grim diagnosis on X.

“Significant knee hyperextension injury with ligament tears,” Chao wrote. “Worry for season-ending injury. Hope he can avoid associated nerve damage.”

Without Shemar, Cincy will have to lean more on Boye Mafe – the former Seattle Seahawks DE and Super Bowl LX champ. Mafe landed himself a 3-year $60 million deal with the Bengals this offseason to lock up the Left DE spot. With Stewart now expected to be out for a while, the only name behind Mafe in that spot is third-year DE Cedric Johnson.

At the time of writing this, no updates regarding the seriousness of Shemar Stewart’s injury have been revealed by the team. For now, the Bengals can only hope Stewart makes a speedy recovery as the team goes on with their training camp.