Bengals Scuffle on Video After Shemar Stewart Bumps Joe Burrow in Play at Practice

The Cincinnati Bengals' Wednesday practice was highlighted by a scuffle between veteran guard Lucas Patrick and rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart, according to video shared by WCPO's Caleb Noe.

Noe reported that the scuffle took place after Stewart bumped quarterback Joe Burrow during an 11-on-11 drill.

No one was injured in the scuffle, per Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“Gotta protect No. 9, starts with me up front,” Patrick told reporters after practice, per Conway. “I gotta play better and protect better, but you can’t let No. 9 get hit.”

Noe provided a video breakdown of Stewart's initial contact on Burrow, noting that Stewart stumbled and may have been shoved before colliding with the quarterback.

Burrow ended up on the ground but was "fine" after the contact, according to Noe. The scuffle between Patrick and Stewart took place a few plays after the incident.

Veteran center Ted Karras said after practice that he felt the Bengals "got a little loose from an o-line perspective today."

"I think some things transpired today that warranted a response and I thought Lucas delivered that,” Karras said, per Conway. "I thought we handled it well overall, it wasn’t like a shut down the practice type of scuffle and probably about time we had one of those.”

When asked after practice if he liked the "edge" Stewart brought to the Bengals' defense, Karras answered, "Hell yeah. Just be smarter."

"Great player, but come on, man. That's all our hopes and dreams right there," Karras said (h/t WLWT's Charlie Clifford). "But we've got to be better, too. That's on us."

Burrow played the entire regular season for the first time in NFL career last year, during which he led the NFL with 4,918 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns.

Several other promising campaigns from the quarterback have been derailed by health issues, including the right wrist injury that ended his 2023 season after 10 games. It sounds like Burrow's teammates are aware that keeping him healthy will be key to the Bengals' hopes of bouncing back from consecutive postseason misses this winter.