RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesCINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 04: Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart (97) before the game against the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals on January 4, 2026, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Cleveland Browns opened their first training camp under head coach Todd Monken on Wednesday at team headquarters in Berea.
While NFL rules mandate a ramp-up period to allow players time to get acclimated to hitting each other, Monken has promised that practices will be different under his watch.
Among the changes are no more veteran days off (we’ll see if anyone holds Monken to that as the season goes along) and a renewed focus on preparing for the upcoming season. Out are the “country club camps” of prior coaches; in their place is a return to the rough-and-tumble days that portions of the fan base and media glamorize, when Oklahoma drills, two-a-days, and absolutely no water breaks separated the men from the boys.
That is all fun and games, of course, until someone gets hurt in a drill and is lost for the season, which happens even in the best of circumstances as the Cincinnati Bengals, who the Browns play twice a season as an AFC North Division foe, discovered on Wednesday.
Defensive end Shemar Stewart, Cincinnati’s first-round draft pick in 2025, went down with a knee injury during the first 11-on-11 drill of training camp. According to Paul Dehner Jr. at The Athletic :
On a pass play, Stewart was rushing the passer and looked to hyper-extend his left knee during the play.
He went down immediately before being helped off the field. Trainers worked on his knee before he attempted to stand but could not put any weight on his left leg. Stewart appeared frustrated and was eventually carted off the practice field.
The Bengals have not provided details about the injury as they await results of his imaging. After practice, Stewart was seen with crutches and a brace on the left knee.
Shemar Stewart Significant knee hyperextension injury with ligament tears. Worry for season ending injury. Hope he can avoid associated nerve damage pic.twitter.com/nFNeYOq6tm
— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) July 29, 2026
That is a rough start for Stewart, who did not have the smoothest of rookie seasons. He held out during training camp, injured his ankle in Week Two, which forced him to miss four games, then landed on the injured reserve list in Week 9 after injuring his knee.
It is also a good reminder that the NFL is a violent place to be if you are a player, even in the best of circumstances. No harm in Monken wanting to toughen up the players this summer, of course, as long as he adheres to the realities of the modern game.
Because while some get overly excited about the “cracking of pads” during practices, the sight of a top player on the ground with an injury quells that excitement pretty quickly.
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