CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The Bengals appear to be officially passing the torch at linebacker to a pair of rookies, which is both a big gamble and comes with tremendous upside, but it has also left veteran Logan Wilson confused and upset.
Rookie second-round draft pick Demetrius Knight has been a starter at the position from basically the first day of the team’s offseason program in April, but on Sunday at the Green Bay Packers it was rookie fourth-round pick Barrett Carter and not Wilson starting alongside Knight.
Wilson, a third-round pick in the 2020 draft when he started two games, has been a full-time starter since 2021 and started all 62 games he has been healthy since, including Sunday when the Bengals opened in a three linebacker alignment. He wound up playing only 12 of the team’s 61 defensive snaps, while Carter played all 61 and Knight played 56. Wilson said on Tuesday he isn’t happy about the decision.
“The reason I was given was they wanted a spark on defense,” said Wilson. “I don’t know exactly what that means. When I asked if there was anything I could do to improve and be better, I wasn’t really given a great reason. That’s the hardest part about the whole situation.”
Defensive coordinator Al Golden said he is trying anything to get his defense to play better as it has allowed at least 27 offensive points in each of the last five games.
“It was a collective thought of, let’s give Barrett a try,” said Golden. “We’ll see where we’re at with him and see if it brings a different energy, but that’s really it. It has nothing to do with Logan. It was just about giving Barrett an opportunity, and we’ll see how it unfolds moving forward. It was just giving Barrett an opportunity and obviously Logan’s still gonna play and he’s still part of the plan, so it wasn’t really a specific thing, it was just an opportunity to take a look at Barrett and see how that goes.”
It’s hard to believe though that isn’t performance related, because of how well Wilson played in helping the Bengals advance to the Super Bowl in the 2021 season and advance to the AFC Championship Game in 2022.
“He and Demetrius out there play with a lot of energy,” said Taylor. “Logan was out there. It’s a room that’s going to continue to improve. They’re just going to need the experience. We’ve got a lot of rookies out there playing right now. They’re going to get better with every single game that they have and all the experience they can gather. I think it’s worthwhile for them to gain that experience.”
There was good and bad from the athletic Carter on Sunday. He finished with a team-high 10 tackles, but also went the wrong way, as did Knight, on a 14-yard touchdown run by Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs on the first play of the fourth quarter that gave the Packers a 24-10 lead. Both went toward opposite “C” gaps, near the opposing offensive tackles, while Jacobs ran straight up the middle through the “A” gap.
“We need someone in the “A” gap, obviously,” said Golden. “Anybody can see that we needed somebody in the “A” gap, and obviously when you let him get a head of steam, he’s hard to get down. We’ve got to play better there, and we expect better. So we have to do a better job, and I have to do a better job of coaching it.”
Carter admitted he and Knight messed up on the play.
“We don’t have a direct gap, we’re just supposed to finish on the ball and that’s what we failed to do obviously on that play,” said Carter. “We just have to trust our eyes, trust our instincts and just play that better. That’s a play we both have made many, many times and we have to take that off the tape. It’s something we knew right after, like that can’t happen. That’s something that we’ve done many, many times in practice and we can’t have that happen again.”
With the upside of Carter and Knight comes the risk of playing two rookies together, which could lead to even more mistakes like Jacobs’ touchdown run on Sunday.
“High anxiety anytime you have two rookie guys out there, but if you’re going to have two rookie guys out there, those are the two that we want,” said Golden.
“I trusted him, that’s why we made the decision, because he’s shown operationally that he can handle it,” Taylor said of the decision to play Carter over Wilson. “I think anytime you put a rookie out there, there’s an element of risk to it. When are you going to expose yourself to that risk? Are you going to do it sooner rather than later? I just felt he’s shown enough to (have us) continue to work through it. We’re going to see constant improvement every single game. And so again, a lot of confidence in him. We’ll continue with that moving forward.”
While Wilson clearly, and understandably isn’t happy about the decision, Carter said he has been professional throughout the process to help him improve.
“He’s the best veteran I could have ever asked for,” said Carter. “He’s been helpful since the day that I got here. I just have so much love and respect for that guy for how he handles things and for his approach to the game every single day. We feed off each other. I still ask him questions every single day and we’re still just trying to go out there and get wins for this team and that’s all that matters right now.”
Golden, who served as Bengals linebackers coach in 2020 and 2021 when Wilson was emerging as a player said he admires how he is handling the situation.
“He’s an awesome human being and obviously one of our leaders,” Golden said of a player who was selected a team captain before the season started. “You really have come to expect nothing less from him. He’s got incredible character and high standards. He’s being a great teammate right now. Because of that, he’s being a leader. He’s got an opportunity to show what a leader he is, and that’s what he’s decided to do, which is awesome for our locker room.”