Bengals Beat: Josh Newton Loves Watching DJ Turner Evolve Into One Of Best Corners in NFL, Logan Wilson Asks For a Trade

CINCINNATI — There was a great deal of wonder – if not concern – heading into this season about who would emerge as a reliable cover corner in the Bengals secondary alongside Dax Hill.

Hill has returned from his ACL tear in Oct. 2024 against Baltimore to establish himself as a reliable slot corner, taking the place of Mike Hilton in the secondary.

But perhaps the most encouraging sign has been the growth and emergence of 24-year-old DJ Turner. The second round pick out of Michigan in 2023 spent time as a backup and last year got his chance to start after Hill went down with his knee injury. But as fate would have it, he broke his collar bone in Week 11 and was lost for the season.

This year, he started showing signs of great growth in training camp and – with Hill moving inside to nickel – Turner was given a chance to win a starting corner job opposite Cam Taylor-Britt, who lockers right next to him in the room. But then a funny thing happened, Taylor-Britt’s play continued its precipitous fall from last year. And Turner has made the most of his starting opportunity. He’s responded with the best year of his career – by far.

He picked off an Aaron Rodgers pass out of the arms of DK Metcalf. He has two interceptions on the season and has defended 13 passes so far in seven games. He has become the best man perimeter defender in the secondary.

“It’s tremendous,” Josh Newton told me. “I just told him, like, bro, you know you’re the best right now, right? And he took it like, ‘I know,’ and that’s how you supposed to take it. And so I’m happy for him. He get a chance to show his skills, his courage skills, use his speed, play with technique, play the ball like you know he’s making that jump that every coach wants a corner to make.”

Newton, a fifth round pick from 2024, has been motivated by the work Turner has put in.

“Oh, he motivates me out there. I see him balling. I got to be out here, balling too.”

A big focus of this Bengals defense continues to be the need to improve tackling. Fig Newton is considered one of the better tacklers on the team, especially in the secondary. The Bengals have 79 missed tackles, the worst such mark in the NFL by 22 over the Dolphins and Jets.

“At the end of day, emphasizing it whenever you get an opportunity, make sure you get in a good football opposition, hitting with speed and staying on leverage,” Newton said. “And if you got a chance to punch the ball, punch the ball just, just do it simple. Just do it.”

Logan Wilson demands trade:

In a move that comes as no surprise, Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson has requested a trade, a source told ESPN’s Ben Baby on Thursday.

The demand comes after Wilson was replaced by rookie Barrett Carter as the primary middle linebacker in defensive coordinator Al Golden’s base nickel package. The move came before the Bengals took the field against Green Bay on Oct. 12. Wilson was still getting playing time but only when the Bengals were employing their base (4-3) alignment with four down linemen and three linebackers.

Wilson, in his sixth season, was voted team captain on defense by teammates before the season and has started all seven games this season. However, Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. have taken over as the every down linebackers in Golden’s defense.

In Week 6 against the Packers, Wilson played just 19.7 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in a 27-18 defeat. Against the Steelers, Wilson was on the field for 47.5 percent of the snaps. The key to any potential trade materializing is how much an acquiring team will commit to his current contract. Wilson has two years remaining on his four-year, $36 million extension signed in 2023.

What makes this all the more surprising is that Wilson blossomed into a force in Lou Anarumo’s defense in 2020 and 2021, when Golden served as Wilson’s linebackers coach. In six seasons with the team, he has made 75 starts and totaled six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 11 interceptions.