Stewart said there is still plenty to play for, especially after already having missed four games early in the season because of an ankle injury. He’s itching to compete again and said although the rehab process was challenging, it helped get him back two weeks earlier than expected.
A roster spot opened Thursday when Trey Hendrickson went on injured reserve following core muscle surgery, and Stewart could slot into that if deemed ready.
“It would mean everything to me,” Stewart said. “I feel like I haven’t played much of a season, a very injury-ridden season for me, first time in my career that ever happened to me. Never been a person to miss games or practice. So it has been hard. I want to get back out there with my guys, feel what they feel when they have the big wins, so I can’t wait to get back out there with them.”
Cincinnati hasn’t done a lot of winning while Stewart has been out, as he played in three of the team’s four wins, but he did miss the Thanksgiving victory at Baltimore and was disappointed to have to watch that one.
It’s been frustrating not being able to try to help when the team has struggled, too. Now, he returns to a team sitting at 4-9 and unlikely to make the playoffs unless the Bengals win out and things go sideways for the Steelers and Ravens.
“I feel like we never know what could happen,” Stewart said. “As long as we keep going, giving it our all, even if we don’t make the playoffs, we could put our best foot forward towards next year, so we could get off to an even better start next year.
“So, these last few games aren’t for nothing. It is for something. It is something to build upon. It’s something to look forward to. It’s something that we got to give our all to because we never know what could happen.”
Stewart is playing for personal pride. In the five games he did play, he only showed brief flashes but didn’t collect many stats. He’s still waiting for his first NFL sack after only recording one quarterback hit to go with six tackles.
The main thing he wants to show over the final four games, if he plays, is consistency.
“It’s very important for me (to show something),” Stewart said. “I set big goals for myself in the beginning of the season. Injuries really ruined that, but it’s football at the end of the day, but I always wanted to be the person to come in my first year and contribute. So even if it’s for a little span, I could do something, I’m grateful for it.
“I don’t want everyone to feel like the guy that just came in and did absolutely nothing,” he added. “If I feel like this, I know there’s other people around the building that feel like that, and I hate that feeling, so I just want to go out there and just try my best. It’s not even going out there chasing stats, just going out and doing my job. That’s the main thing.”
Stewart also wants to prove the organization right for drafting him, despite outside noise about his lack of sack production at Texas A&M, where he recorded a lot of pressure and was disruptive but didn’t finish plays.
That narrative wasn’t helped by his injuries this year, especially after he held off from signing his contract and didn’t start practicing until early in training camp. Stewart said it doesn’t do players any good to listen to outside criticism, but he does want to show what he can bring.
“The player I am, I’m very prideful,” Stewart said. “I want to be the best there ever is, but sometimes it takes time to get there. So, especially with these injuries, I just sit back and reflect on what I could do better, how I could be a better player for my coaches, how to be more coachable, just pick up every little piece of nugget they give out there in meetings, so when I come back, it’s like a seamless transition.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Stewart doesn’t have anything to prove to him these last four games, if he is able to play.
“We’ve got high expectations for him, and he’s worked really hard to meet those and done everything he can do,” Stewart said. “Unfortunately, he had the setback with the injury. It’s nothing he can control. I don’t think there’s a pressure to see anything from him in the next four weeks. We’ll see how he feels as practice goes this week. If he’s able get in a game this week, just keep progressing him, keep improving. That’s the biggest thing, kind of like what I said about the other rookies we’ve got that have gotten o play more - keep getting better every single week and Shemar falls into that category.”
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