CINCINNATI (AP) — One day after signing his rookie contact, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart took the field for his first NFL practice on Sunday.
While Stewart was the final Bengals' draft pick to sign and criticized ownership while the negotiations were going on, coach Zac Taylor said that the organization can leave all of that contention in the past.
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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas (80) makes a catch against cornerback Nate Brooks (41) during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden looks on during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Cincinnati Bengals' Shemar Stewart, right, signs autographs during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart performs a drill during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart performs a drill during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
“That’s part of being a professional,” Taylor said. “Just put it behind you. He’s a part of our team, so we support him every step of the way now. You just put all that stuff behind you.”
Stewart missed three practices before signing his rookie deal, and he also didn’t participate in any of the Bengals’ spring workouts.
On Sunday, he went through some extra sets of drills with one-on-one instruction from defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, was a full participant in position drills and then received about 10 reps in full-team drills against the first-team offense.
“I just needed to get on the field as soon as possible,” Stewart said. “I needed to start learning, start getting better. There is a long season ahead. I needed to be ready.”
He said that he didn’t have any regrets about the negotiation process. Stewart also defended his agent, Zac Hiller.
Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin criticized Hiller last week by saying that Stewart was listening to the advice that he was paying for. Stewart said that he appreciated Hiller’s approach in negotiations.
Stewart’s four-year deal is worth $18.97 million guaranteed, including a $10.4 million signing bonus.
Stewart, the 17th overall pick in April’s draft, and Hiller eventually agreed to the Bengals' provision voiding future guarantees if there are any off-field incidents or conduct detrimental to the team.
However, he received $500,000 more of his signing bonus now instead of later in the season.
“I want an agent that’s more of a pit bull,” Stewart said. “I don’t want an agent that can easily be pushed over. I want someone that’s going to war (for) me, so I don’t have to do any of the hard work behind the scenes. In terms of that, I think Zac is a great agent. He handles business very well. That’s my dog for life.”
On the field, Stewart struggled with the heat as well as the new techniques from the Bengals coaching staff.
At one point during practice, he poured water over his eyes only to find out that it was Gatorade. That stung his eyes, and he joked about it being a learning moment.
During his first practice rep against offensive linemen, he got pushed back and spun around. That was another learning moment.
“Just get him out here and get him going with our fundamentals and with Jerry and all the things we’re teaching,” Taylor said. “Tomorrow we get the chance to put the pads on, to get a chance to feel what that feels like again. It’s just good to go full speed with him.”
Stewart said that he hopes this week was a start of a long Bengals’ career, and he’s focused on the long game now that his contract has been signed.
“It was never me vs. anybody,” Stewart said. “We just didn’t see eye to eye. At the end of the day, I’m happy to be a Bengal. I’m happy that I got drafted here. We have a long relationship ahead of us. There’s no bad blood. It’s just how things go sometimes.”
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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas (80) makes a catch against cornerback Nate Brooks (41) during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden looks on during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Cincinnati Bengals' Shemar Stewart, right, signs autographs during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart performs a drill during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart performs a drill during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.
SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.
“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.
It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.
Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.
While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.
NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.
The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule being taken into the recovery vessel after crew members re entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Mike Fincke getting helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Zena Cardman being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
