The Cincinnati Bengals ran into a little trouble during their Wednesday, August 13, practice when a scuffle broke out between the offense and defense line. Standing in the front, rookie Shemar Stewart bumped into quarterback Joe Burrow, which sparked an instant reaction from the offense. Veteran center Ted Karras shared his opinion about the scuffle in a post-practice media interaction.
Ted Karras on the scuffle
“Just be smarter,” Karras said, as reported by WLWT’s Charlie Clifford. “… Great player, but come on, man. That’s all our hopes and dreams right there. We [the offensive line] gotta be better, too. That’s on us.”
Although Karras acknowledged Stewart’s abilities as a player, he felt that the rookie must control his temper when it comes to competing on the field, particularly around Burrow. Stewart is still being eased into the process. He entered the team on July 25 once his contract was finalized after skipping practice sessions in protest for a better deal.
As a side note, Karras felt that this was a moment for the offensive line to reflect on their actions as well, suggesting that the blame isn’t entirely for Stewart to take on.
Fans react
Fans took to social media to react to the clash.
“How about Ted Karras have a message for his wack ass offensive line? He wasn’t talking this tough when Joe Burrow was taking late hits last season. What a fucking clown. Mr CincyAssHat @_teddy_k,” a fan wrote.
“He looked like he stumbled…but had the Bengals invested money in to a starting guard it wouldn’t have happened,” a user shared.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” another fan expressed.
“What an idiot,” a user wrote.
“I’m glad he acknowledged it’s on the OL,” a fan said.
The Bengals are facing the Washington Commanders on Monday, August 18, in their next preseason outing.
– With inputs from Stuti Gupta
