Trade talks have started to pick up around Cincinnati Bengals‘ former first-round pick Shemar Stewart. After being inactive in Week 7, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN believes he is one of the best players likely to be traded before the trade deadline.
Fowler gives Stewart a 35% chance of being traded and believes the cost to acquire him would be a day-three pick.
“While the Bengals typically don’t trade away recently drafted players, Stewart is out of the defensive end rotation and would have value,” wrote Fowler. “He was inactive Sunday in Baltimore. He has high upside and turns 23 in November. The emergence of rookie Cashius Howell gives Cincinnati cover should it move on, too. Stewart is a name a few teams have had circled as a possibility for weeks, and teams predict a Day 3 pick would be the most likely value.”
Fowler links the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles as the two teams most likely to trade for Stewart.
Cincinnati Bengals Could Trade Shemar Stewart to Detroit Lions or Philadelphia Eagles
While the voices outside of the organization are adamant that Stewart could be dealt, the talk inside the organization seems to be centered around patience. Ben Baby of ESPN covers the Bengals and feels that a move is far-fetched right now.
“Trading Stewart is incredibly far-fetched at the moment,” tweeted the Bengals reporter after the team made Stewart inactive.
After making him inactive in Week 7, head coach Zac Taylor noted that it was just a numbers game. The team plans to have him active soon.
“We are just in a tough spot with our inactives right now,” admitted Taylor. “Sometimes we are healthy. Sometimes we are beat up at a position when we need another guy up. So unfortunately we had to pull from the D-line, and it is a really deep D-line group, and it’s really difficult to choose who is going to be inactive. I don’t want to do that every week, but we are going to have to be creative with who we pull from.”
So, the team appears committed to him. Still, they have four rushers that they use ahead of him, so it is hard to see the numbers changing in his favor.
Bengals Might Be Pushed to Trade Stewart
As things stand, the team is starting Myles Murphy and Boye Mafe over him. Murphy is a former first-round pick as well, and Mafe was a free agent signing. They also drafted Cashius Howell in round 2, and he is playing over Stewart.
Murphy might be gone next year, but the other two are long-term commitments with more potential than Stewart right now. They also have Cedric Johnson, who fills in as the fourth rusher. He does not play much on defense, but he is a special teams asset. So, Stewart will never be active over him if it comes to it.
They can develop Stewart and have him replace Murphy next year. Or, they can try to get something for him this year before his value drops more.
Chances of Bengals Trading Former 1st-Rounder Revealed