Logan Wilson’s last act with Bengals separates him from every other player who’s wanted out of Cincinnati
Cincinnati makes a deal on the day of the trade deadline.
The Cincinnati Bengals are trading linebacker Logan Wilson to the Dallas Cowboys.
As reported first by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Wilson is headed to Dallas with a seventh-round pick coming back in return for Cincinnati.
Wilson was drafted by Cincinnati in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He played in 76 games (65 starts) along with seven postseason starts in his nearly six years with the club. While he was named a team captain for the first time this season, he was an on-field leader for most of his Bengals career as the MIKE linebacker wearing the green communications dot on his helmet.
There aren’t many non-first-round picks in recent history that have turned out better than Wilson for Cincinnati, but this trade happened because Wilson requested it two weeks ago. The Bengals benched their veteran LB in Week 6 for rookie Barrett Carter, and Wilson wants to start again.
But requesting a trade out of Cincy rarely ends up working out for a Bengals player, which is why this trade stands out.
Bengals honor Logan Wilson’s trade request like they’ve never done before
Wilson is now the subject of just the fifth midseason trade the Bengals have made going back to trading Carson Palmer away during the 2011 season. Wilson is just the third player ever traded away from the team around this part of the calendar, along with Palmer and Carlos Dunlap in 2020.
The difference between Wilson and the other two is the way they got out of town.
Palmer threatened retirement in 2011 and essentially was out of football before Cincinnati sent him to the Oakland Raiders for two draft picks. Dunlap caused a mess of his own in Zac Taylor’s second season as head coach, posting pictures of the depth chart to his Instagram, arguing with coaches on the sideline, and putting up his house for sale.
The Bengals had no choice but to part ways with both players when they did. Wilson simply requested a trade in silence and kept his head down, and he got his wish.
That just doesn’t happen in Cincinnati. Jonah Williams, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson, and others have tried to push the front office in a calm manner and never got anywhere. Wilson is the only real exception.
Trading Wilson, of course, makes total sense from the Bengals’ perspective. They benched him with three years remaining on his contract, and their season is going down the drain at 3-6 entering their bye week. It eliminates a potential distraction on defense with so much chaos already happening on that side of the ball.
Injuries have also cost Wilson playing time over the years, including last year when he missed the final six games of the season. He’s also dealing with a calf right now that made him inactive for last Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears.
It’s unfortunate that Wilson went from a first-time captain in September to being traded away two months later, but Cincinnati rightfully honored his request and got something in return for a player who wasn’t in the club’s plans moving forward.
This story was originally published in A to Z Sports Cincinnati Bengals, as Logan Wilson’s last act with Bengals separates him from every other player who’s wanted out of Cincinnati.
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