Bengals Lose Star Defender for Rest of Season after Knee Surgery
The Cincinnati Bengals played their Week 13 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers without the services of star linebacker Logan Wilson, and on Thursday they learned that they’ll be playing without Wilson when they come to Pittsburgh in Week 18.
Wilson had a surgical procedure to clean up his knee on Thursday, according to a report by Mike Garafalo of NFL Network, and he will miss the rest of the season.
In 11 games before his injury, Wilson recorded 104 tackles, two tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one pass defended. He has been the Bengals’ leading tackler every year since he became a full-time starter in 2021.
Without Wilson, the Bengals started Akeem Davis-Gaither alongside Germaine Pratt against the Steelers on Sunday. Cincinnati was gashed by the Steelers running backs in both the running and passing game. Najee Harris rushed for 75 yards on 16 carries and Cordarrelle Patterson added 16 yards on three carries.
Through the air, Harris caught six passes for 54 yards, Jaylen Warren had four for 55 and Patterson three for 37 as Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson favored a short passing attack that gouged an already porous Bengals lineup missing its top tackler. According to Pro Football Focus, the Bengals missed 14 tackles in the game, with Davis-Gaither leading the way with four.
“Not that much,” Pratt said when asked about missed tackles. “I just think they was getting the ball out quick, quick game and screens.”
Head coach Zac Taylor said the problem wasn’t effort, but execution.
“We just got to get guys on the ground, because there was great examples at times of guys hitting and making tackles,” Taylor said. “But again, overall, the consistency of it wasn’t good enough.”
The Bengals have not been officially eliminated from the AFC playoff picture, but at 4-8, they would need to essentially win out to have a shot at a postseason berth.
Wilson signed a four-year, $36 million contract last year that could keep him in Cincinnati through the end of the 2027 season.
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