CINCINNATI — Logan Wilson knows 2024 didn’t go as planned.
The veteran linebacker, entering his sixth season with the Bengals, tried valiantly to play through a lingering knee injury that slowed him and took away valuable speed in his game and his ability to track down ball carriers in both the run and passing game.
Wilson was placed on injured reserve following a procedure on his left knee. Wilson underwent a cleanup procedure on his knee last December and was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 6, following the procedure. The injury involved cartilage issues, including a flap tear that was not locking up the joint. Wilson battled through most of the season but the knee progressively worsened throughout the season, to the point where he couldn’t comfortably get into his stance, and a piece of cartilage had broken off.
While Wilson struggled at times with closing on ball carriers due to the injury, the veteran linebacker still recorded 104 tackles, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in 11 games.
Wilson told me he doesn’t see it as a bounce-back year but a different year, a year filled with health.
“I guess a better way (to put it) I feel like it’s just a, it’s just a different year,” Wilson said. “I mean it’s just like the whole linebacker room is pretty much changed. A lot of guys on defense are gone. I mean it’s just kind of just how it is you know I don’t know if I considered as much of a bounce-back year for myself. You could say that just because I was in and missed the last few games. So I understand that but in my mind I’m just I’m just coming out to to do what I get paid to do (and) lead this defense in a way that I know how to, and just make a bunch of plays on defense and hopefully help us get to where we want to go.”
Wilson no longer has Germaine Pratt to lean on as a vocal leader. It’s now rookies Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter and veteran Oren Burks who will be called up to pick up the slack. With all the new faces, what does Wilson see as the potential of this defense?
“We want to be a top defense, especially in terms of turnovers,” Wilson said. “I think if we can get a bunch of turnovers on defense and give our offense more opportunities to score, I think that’s going to really bode well for us as a team. And so we’re really harping on turnovers throughout camp, finding ways that we can affect the ball.
“There’s times where we’re going to be coming into the backfield instead of just making the tackle for loss, like find a way to make a play on the ball so that we can get the ball back to our offense. And so we’re still learning those things and will continue to learn those things as camp goes. But once the season gets here, hopefully, we’ve got them figured out, we can start to make the results show.”
Wilson has shown perseverance over the course of his five years, battling through shoulder issues in 2021 and playing with a torn labrum in Super Bowl LVI that eventually resulted in surgery later that same month.
With all three captains from the ’24 defense gone, there are vacancies to be filled. BJ Hill could be one on the defensive line. Geno Stone or Dax Hill could assume one in the secondary and Wilson figures to be a natural in the second level.
“To me, that’s one of the best, probably the best award you can get in sports is being a captain, especially when it’s team-voted in terms of being around your peers and the guys that care about you and look to you, and want you to lead them in times of adversity and times of success and continuing to remain humble,” Wilson said. “And I feel like it’s just kind of natural, being in the position that I’m in right now. Going into Year 6, being one of the older guys on defense having done this a few years, I understand what it takes to get to the Super Bowl. And so just trying to lead by example. When guys may be low on energy, in the middle of camp trying to get the energy up, just find little ways here and there that I can affect guys, and hope to continue to help us make big steps forward.”
Wilson has been one of the early playmakers early in camp, sacking Joe Burrow on day one of full pads Monday and chasing down Andrei Iosivas on a toss-flare to the sideline in the red zone later in the same practice. Wilson is running well, a sign that he is ready to return to the form that made him one of the most reliable and productive players on defense, registering four straight seasons of 100-plus tackles, including last season.
99 For Ja’Marr:
Ja’Marr Chase became a member of another exclusive club Monday when he received his “Madden 26” 99 overall rating, with a little help from a Bengals legend.
Bengals legend and Madden Ratings Adjuster Chad Johnson revealed the rating to Chase in a video.
“We all know what you can do,” Johnson said in the video. “You’ve arrived, the ’99 Club’. Welcome to greatness.”
After becoming the sixth receiver of the modern era to win the triple crown in 2024, Chase becomes the first Bengal to join the “99 Club,” an exclusive group reserved for the game’s highest-rated players.
"Nice." – @JoeyB pic.twitter.com/k3bcUgcPLu
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 28, 2025
In 2024, Chase joined Jerry Rice, Sterling Sharpe, Steve Smith Sr. and Cooper Kupp as the only receivers to win the triple crown since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. He’s also the youngest receiver to win the crown since Hall-of-Famer Don Hutson did it at 23 years old in 1936.
The wideout finished the season with 127 receptions for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns. Not only did those pace the league, but he also set the franchise record for receptions and yards and tied the franchise record for touchdowns, matching Carl Pickens’ 17 touchdowns from 1995.
“He deserves it all,” QB Joe Burrow said of Chase after the team’s Week 18 win against the Steelers last season. “He works really hard for it. He’s obviously a great player, a great person.”
Chase showed his appreciation to Johnson with a video of his own.
UNO to OCHO.@Real10jayy__ x @ochocinco pic.twitter.com/QHQEJXDMwr
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 28, 2025
Bengals Camp Day 5 Monday Takeaways:
* Joe Burrow had some good throws to Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase outside, including one on sideline where Higgins ran a vert and Chase caught an underneath.
* Practice moved inside and defense started to dominate, with rookie Shemar Stewart batting a pair of passes down, including one in which he walked in on Jake Browning.
* DJ Ivey, getting some run on first team secondary, broke up a pass in the end zone in red zone.
* Logan Wilson ran down Burrow on a sack late in 11s.
* Charlie Jones and Mike Gesicki with nice sideline catches late in practice in 11s.
* Cam Taylor-Britt returned to practice as he manages “general soreness”
* Chase Brown showed off his explosive running again, darting up the middle for a 10-yard TD run in red zone and breaking off a nice 15-yard run to the outside.
* Kris Jenkins and TJ Slaton had a nice stunt combo to force Burrow to throw a sideline route for Ja’Marr Chase early and force an incompletion.
* Bengals have Tuesday off before returning Wednesday and Thursday.
