Logan Wilson got here up as a trade candidate this week, being mentioned as a player who could move after the Bengals reduced his role. Now, Wilson will be added to the growing list of Bengals to have asked to be moved lately.
The veteran linebacker has requested a trade, ESPN.com’s Ben Baby reports. Although Wilson has began all seven Cincinnati games this season, rookies Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter have cut into his role. Wilson is tied to a four-year, $36MM contract, a deal that runs through the 2027 season.
Since 2023, the Bengals have received trade requests from Jonah Williams, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson and Germaine Pratt. Not referred to as being particularly accommodating on the trade or contract fronts, the team gave into none of those asks.
Williams played out his contract 12 months — at right tackle, after the team signed Orlando Brown Jr. — and left as a 2024 free agent. Requesting a trade in March 2024, Higgins played last season on the franchise tag. Although Hendrickson trade drama didn’t change into lead NFL story until this offseason, the All-Pro defensive end submitted his request in 2024. It didn’t move the needle. Weeks after Pratt requested a trade, the Bengals cut him.
The Pratt release got here after the Bengals drafted each Knight (Round 2) and Carter (Round 4). With Wilson still rostered, those selections marginalized Pratt, who’s now on his third team of the 12 months (Bengals, Raiders, Colts). Carter has usurped Wilson within the Bengals’ linebacking hierarchy, playing 100% of the team’s defensive snaps over the past two games. Knight has held a steadier role this season, and he played almost every snap over Cincinnati’s past two contests.
A mainstay at linebacker for the reason that Bengals drafted him within the 2020 third round, Wilson played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps in Week 5. Over the past two games, nonetheless, his usage has dipped considerably. Wilson played 19.7% of Cincy’s defensive snaps in Week 6 and 45.6% of the plays in Week 7. Al Golden has pivoted to the rookies on his second level, with Zac Taylor reiterating the team’s commitment to the Knight-Carter duo, leaving Wilson as a part-timer. Not long after that switch, the sixth-year veteran is attempting to force the difficulty.
While the Bengals are famous for not budging in these situations, a report this week indicated they might be open to dealing Wilson. The previous Super Bowl starter signed a $9MM-per-year extension through the 2023 offseason, doing so weeks after the Bengals re-signed Pratt. With Lou Anarumo now in Indianapolis, the Bengals modified up at linebacker. Wilson (65 profession starts) is tied to a $5.37MM base salary this season.
Just greater than $3MM stays on that contract now, and if the Bengals move on just before the Nov. 4 deadline, barely $2.5MM in base salary would remain for 2025. No guarantees are in place, as this can be a Bengals contract, beyond this season. That may give a team flexibility with a 29-year-old defender who had been a daily for years in Cincy. Wilson posted 4 straight 100-plus-tackle seasons, attending to 104 last season despite missing six games, and Pro Football Focus ranked him as a top-25 off-ball LB in 2022 and ’24. He sits forty seventh on that list this season.