Shemar Stewart brought the Texas heat with him when he stepped into Paycor Stadium’s steamy Saturday to sign his rookie deal and left with a stone-cold wake-up call for a 5:30 a.m. meeting with Bengals defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery.
Stewart may not need to set an alarm. The Texas A&M edge player is still rushing on happy fumes after the excitement of his first-round deal coming down Friday night left him with just four hours of sleep.
“I feel like I finally made it here,” said Stewart, unable to resist a peek at the photos about to be released from when he posed in his Bengals No. 97 last month. “Growing up, it’s like everyone else. A long shot. It’s a long shot for you to even make it. And then when you finally put it (the uniform) on, that actually makes you feel alive.”
“I can’t wait for Who-Dey Nation to see them,” Stewart said. “Now I’ve got to make my mark. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been dreaming about this.”
Head coach Zac Taylor, his team on a day off, came into shoot baskets with his son and his buddies to welcome Stewart. Before taking the kids to the movies, Taylor watched him sign and told Stewart Monday was the fourth day of camp and the pads are going on this week.
Elizabeth Blackburn, the team’s director of strategy and engagement, broke away from a meeting upstairs to welcome Stewart to what she called the Bengals’ family and told him how thrilled they are to have a player whom their scouts and organization have a great deal of belief. What had been a contract standoff on Friday was now simply a starting point Saturday as assistant general manager Steven Radicevic filed the contract in a folder.
“It was a pretty cool moment. They made me feel welcome. Made me feel wanted,” Stewart said. “Made me feel like I belong here. It was a very great moment. This is where I wanted to be the whole time.”
Stewart said the impasse ended when, “Both sides just found some even ground. We both thought it would be beneficial for us to stop arguing and just get me back on the field.”
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