NFL Trade Rumors
Cincinnati grabbed DE Shemar Stewart out of Texas A&M with the future of DE Trey Hendrickson uncertain. Bengals senior personnel executive Troy Brown loves Stewart’s physical makeup and believes in their plan to get the most out of him.
“We felt we were lucky that he was there. You can never have enough good pass rushers. We’ve got a lot of good guys in that room currently, a lot of guys that can get after a quarterback with some high-end traits,” Brown said, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s website. “And if we keep adding to that room, that’s never going to be a problem. I think in this league, the more that you’re going to apply pressure on the quarterback is a premium, and that’s what Stewart does. He puts pressure on the QB. He has a lot of physical tools, and he has a lot of ability that’s going to translate well to our level. I think that he’s another guy that our coaches have a great vision. On how to maximize his value.”
Brown outlined how much they value Stewart’s ability to rush from numerous alignments to keep in packages on every down.
“He was definitely moved around a lot at Texas A&M. It’s truly valuable for us. When you can have a pass rusher that you can really align them anywhere to go attack maybe the weakness of an opposing offensive line. Maybe that’s a 4 technique. Maybe that’s outside in a wide nine. Maybe in some packages, he’s got to kick into a 3. I think Al does a great job in how he’s going to utilize these guys. Somebody like Shemar, when we looked at him, he has the skill set to do a lot of things, and he has the experience moving across the defensive line. I think that’s a great chess piece to have, and a great tool for Al and his defensive staff to use when we’re going to line up on Sundays and try to go out and get after the quarterback.”
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski was asked if rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders will join Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett in the competition for the starting quarterback job.
“I think all of our players are competing for starting jobs,” Stefanski said, via Pro Football Talk. “But the most important part for any player walking into our building is really focusing on the work that it’s going to entail, because, as you know, it’s a lot coming at these guys early. So, we’ll get our hands on them in a couple of weekends at the rookie minicamp. But we anticipate all of our players to carve out a role, whether that’s as a starter, as a backup, and it’s really no different here.”
In a hit on ESPN’s NFL Live, Jeremy Fowler revealed that Steelers WR George Pickens briefly considered requesting a trade but ultimately decided he wanted to play in Pittsburgh in...
