English
Español
This is the first time we get to hear from teams’ coaches and members of the front office as the NFL Scouting Combine takes place. This is a very big offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals after failing to reach the postseason yet again.
All eyes are on what the Bengals will do on defense. One thing they have already decided is to retain defensive coordinator Al Golden, who failed to put a winning product on the field most of the season.
Another big point of interest is the past year’s first round pick, Shemar Stewart. He had a slow start due to a contract dispute with Cincinnati, and then he missed 10 games. Fair to say he remains a big question mark going into the year, but Golden is still pulling for him.
“I’m still really excited about Shemar,” Golden told reporters at the combine via FOX 19. “That was a difficult season. To not have him for the offseason and most of training camp, that was compounded with the injury that set him back. I see a lot of really, really bright spots. We’ve got to keep adhering to a process, continually get better, have consistency in his approach and his practice, and the results will come.”
Bengals de facto GM Duke Tobin is also hopeful that Stewart will have a bigger impact in Year 2.
“I’m excited about Shemar,” Tobin said. “All of us are excited about Shemar. The first year didn’t go the way he wanted. He didn’t have a ton of practice. He played healthy in the first game, and then he wasn’t healthy the rest of the year. And that’s tough on a young guy.”
It is obviously too soon to really give up on a player with so much potential. Yet recently, we heard murmurs about Jermaine Burton after his rookie year that piqued our concern, so it is certainly a positive not to have that here.
Now that being said, you obviously can not just write off needing a defensive end or a pass rush in general because you believe in Stewart, especially since they burned any bridge to Trey Hendrickson returning. They will need plenty of guys to come in and produce just to replace his production.
We will have to see how much a full offseason of getting to prepare will help Stewart. He was very much a low-floor but high-ceiling player. Cincinnati needs him to reach that potential sooner rather than later.