CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals rookie Shemar Stewart spent the first few weeks of his NFL career turning heads with his practice reps.
He did the same thing on Wednesday -- but for the wrong reason.
During an 11-on-11 team drill, Stewart, a defensive end, twisted inside and had a free run on quarterback Joe Burrow. Veteran Lucas Patrick, who is competing for the starting right guard position, appeared to knock Stewart off-balance and into Burrow, who fell.
A small scuffle ensued in a response to breaking the biggest rule of training camp about hitting the quarterback, but things quickly continued as normal.
"I said, 'Joe, it was an accident, you know I never want to mean to do that,'" Stewart told reporters on Friday. "He said, 'You know it's cool -- as long as you do it on Sundays, too.'"
Patrick is someone who could envision that on Sundays.
"It's a great guy to work fundamentals [against] and see someone move like that," Patrick said. "Because there's very few people on this planet who can cover ground like him at the line of scrimmage."
After an offseason that featured a contract dispute and several questions about his viability as an elite NFL player, Stewart is showing what he could bring the Bengals' defense this season. It has been only a few weeks, but it's hard to remember a first-round pick making a better early impression than Stewart, the 17th overall selection in this year's draft. The 6-foot-5 player's athleticism has somehow been better than advertised as he has already proven to be a potent edge rusher.
"In terms of his ability naturally to be able to bend, his speed, he's got an extremely rare combination," said Bengals offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., a four-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champ. "To me, he's going to be one of the best in the league once he gets it down."
With each practice day, Stewart continues to earn more reps and has impressed his teammates and coaches.
Stewart missed all of the offseason workouts and the first three practices of training camp because of a dispute over language in his rookie deal. Starting with his first practice on July 27, Stewart took some reps with the starters.
He has taken more snaps the more he becomes acclimated to training camp. New Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden has lined him up at nearly every spot on the defensive line. And on Wednesday, with four primary defensive ends unavailable, Stewart received extensive reps with the first-team defense.
The summer conditioning at Texas A&M while he waited to join the Bengals is paying off. That included enduring Fridays with renowned SEC strength coach Tommy Moffitt.
Stewart would get in a lift in the morning like some of his old college teammates. Then came the finisher -- a combination of sprints and running that covers 120 yards, eight times for three sets, and then pushing a sled 100 yards down a field twice. That kind of football conditioning in the Texas summer heat left Stewart asking himself: What is stopping me from ending this drill now?
"I know I got bigger goals to accomplish this year," Stewart said. "I got to be in shape. I can't come in here feeling sluggish. Feeling terrible on the first day of practice is not going to be a good look. Especially when I've been away."
Bengals rookie offensive lineman Seth McLaughlin remembered prepping for Stewart back when McLaughlin was starting at Alabama. He remembers turning on the tape to prepare for the 2022 game against Texas A&M and seeing a freshman defensive end with five-star potential.
That was referenced often when Stewart was in the predraft process. But so was his lack of sack production. In three seasons with the Aggies, Stewart had just 4.5 total sacks. When the Bengals drafted him in April, Stewart immediately had to answer questions accounting for those low numbers.
"The fans weren't the most excited about me," Stewart said. "I'm pretty sure that would've been anywhere I went. So I just want to come in, do my part this year and just prove myself right.
"I ain't really looking to prove anybody outside of me and my family right."
Stewart and so many have said that once he is able to refine his technique to complement his athleticism, he'll be able to turn pressures into sacks.
"If you can win with speed now without a move, you put that into perspective," said Brown, the Bengals' veteran offensive tackle. "That's very rare. You're saying you're going to line up and run past a guy -- and he knows you're going to run past him -- and you still run past him."
For Cincinnati defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, Stewart's former A&M teammate whose locker is now next to him, it's been validating to see the rookie's early returns. And beyond what he's showing on the field, Stewart's demeanor around the team is another sign of why he could have a very high ceiling.
"He's never been a problem in the locker room," Jackson said. "I've known this guy since he was 18 years old. To now see him as a grown man and handle himself as a professional, I'm more than proud of him."
But despite all the praise from so many teammates so far, there are still reminders that Stewart is a rookie. One of them is a loading a dolly full of Mountain Valley Spring Water.
After practice, multiple cases of the spring water bottled in green bottles are waiting for Stewart to take into the locker room. He's responsible for keeping veteran Trey Hendrickson's personal supply fully stocked.
Following a hot day, Jackson offered to help Stewart carry pads so he could bring the cases inside.
Stewart quickly found out Jackson was kidding. Not everything can come so easy for a rookie.