Stewart and Hill trending back as Bengals' defensive line rebuild clears its first real test

Both B.J. Hill and Shemar Stewart received positive injury updates Saturday, a quiet but consequential development for a Cincinnati defensive line that has spent most of camp shorthanded. Stewart, the first-round pass rusher who was carted off during the first 11-on-11 drill in late July with a hyperextended knee, remains Questionable — but the direction has shifted. Hill, who had been out entirely, is also trending the right way.

The timing matters. The Bengals built this offseason around fixing a defense that cost them roughly 4.6 wins in 2025 despite one of the more productive offenses in the league. Dexter Lawrence was the centerpiece acquisition, and he has been healthy throughout camp. But Lawrence alone doesn't fix a pass rush, and Stewart was supposed to be the piece that made the front four genuinely dangerous. Losing him for any significant stretch would have put real pressure on a depth chart that doesn't have much margin behind the starters.

For now, the rebuild is intact. Not confirmed, not guaranteed — but intact. Camp has a few weeks left, and the Bengals need both players on the field to know what they actually have.