Why the Bengals should extend linebacker Logan Wilson this offseason: Mohammad Ahmad
Wilson #Wilson
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Extending linebacker Logan Wilson needs to be a priority for the Bengals this offseason.
It goes without saying that the Bengals’ utmost priority should be locking down quarterback Joe Burrow first and foremost to a long-term deal. Wide receiver Tee Higgins is also in the conversation for an extension as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. Higgins has made clear he wants to be in Cincinnati.
Wilson shouldn’t be lost in the noise, though, as he’s made a strong case for being worthy and deserving of an extension in Cincinnati. He enters the final year of his rookie deal, which will earn him a base salary of over $2.7 million.
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Spotrac projects Wilson’s average annual salary, based on market value, to be worth about $9.4 million. That would set him around a ballpark of a three-year, $28.3 million contract. If you compare that to other current linebacker deals across the league, that will make Wilson one of the top-30 highest paid linebacker in the NFL with this contract template.
An ever further comparison of individual deals to Wilson’s market value is akin to what players like Bills linebacker Matt Milano and Ravens linebacker Tyus Bowser are currently making right now. Milano’s current four-year extension has him averaging $10.4 million per year. Bowser is making about $5.5 million right now.
Paying Wilson anywhere between those numbers is far from unrealistic and more than deserving. The soon-to-be fourth-year linebacker wore the green dot on his helmet (signifying he got play calls from the sideline via a helmet microphone) for the Bengals’ defense for most of 2022 and could be named a team captain entering 2023. Linebacker Germaine Pratt’s potential departure in free agency seems almost inevitable, which only elevates Wilson’s leadership role at that position and within the defense.
The concern over squeezing in a deal for Wilson is valid especially given that Burrow could become the highest-paid player in the league pending a new deal. That not only makes it harder to keep star players like Wilson and Higgins, among others, but it could mean that the Bengals will have to make equally tough, if not tougher, decisions with other pending free agents on both sides of the ball.
As tough as this may be to accomplish, getting Wilson extended is critical. Losing him in 2024 would mean a big drop-off in zone coverage in the middle of the field that’s going to be hard to fully replicate. What a potential contract would look like is pure speculation and is likely contingent on how much Burrow and other extension candidates make.
If cap space is a concern, though, there’s multiple areas where the Bengals can free up space by releasing particular players who are a cap causality entering next year. Pratt and safety Jessie Bates’ inevitable departures will save them even more money that can be partially spread back toward a new deal for Wilson.
Here’s three main reasons why the Bengals should lock down Wilson this offseason.
1) Wilson is worthy of being considered a top-10 linebacker
Calling Wilson a top-five linebacker is quite the stretch, but if he’s not a top-10 linebacker in most rankings, he very well should be in 2023.
One of the most marketable and stout aspects of Wilson’s game is his workhorse ethic. All while missing a game this season due to a shoulder injury, Wilson played 1,155 total snaps – the sixth-most among all linebackers in 2022, per Pro Football Focus. Had he not missed a game, he would’ve easily been in the top-five with the likes of 49ers linebacker Fred Warner and Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks.
Wilson also showed that he’s able to maximize his value when given those high reps. Although Wilson only played in 12 games his rookie year and only started two of them, he went from making 33 tackles that season, up to 100 in 2021 and a team-high 123 this past season. If Pratt doesn’t return and Wilson shares snaps with Akeem Davis-Gaither, combined with his upward trend, then he could easily break the 150-tackle mark.
Aside from finishing 2022 as the fourth-highest graded tackler (87.6), according to PFF, what also instantly stood out from Wilson during the season was his instinctive pass coverage. He only had one interception in 2022 compared to the four he had in the preceding regular season. That might be due in part to how Pratt was used as had a higher coverage grade despite playing 232 fewer coverage snaps than Wilson.
Assuming Wilson stays healthy and continues his upward trend, the Bengals will and should be grateful if he’s locked down for the next few years.
2) He’s outperforming other linebackers with the same value
When looking at other players who are making what Wilson is market value-wise, he’s already ahead of the curve with some of those players.
Take Milano for instance. An All-Pro, Pro Bowl linebacker, Wilson was either on par or ahead of Milano in terms of stats and/or PFF grades, including overall defense. In Milano’s defense, he’s one of the better linebackers in the game at stopping the run but Wilson provides a more well-rounded package of skills beyond just stuffing runners and making tackles.
Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker is another name worth mentioning as he’s on a three-year, $37.5 million dollar deal that’s akin to what Wilson could land in terms of an extension. Built with the same 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame as Wilson, Baker’s upside is his ability to get to the quarterback. The Bengals’ linebackers weren’t used as primary blitzers last year but Wilson still found a way to notch 2.5 sacks.
Bowser has been hampered with injuries but his stats entering this past season pale in comparison to Wilson’s career stats all while Wilson has played three fewer seasons than him. So not only is Wilson one of the best linebackers based on his market value tier, but he’s shown that he might the best inside linebacker in the AFC North.
3) His style makes him a long-term fit within the Bengals’ system
Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has called just about every Bengals player “his favorite.” But Wilson has earned the admiration and respect his defensive coordinator and head coach Zac Taylor.
On top of being the green dot of the defense, Wilson is a match made in heaven for Anarumo’s 5-2 base defense. Whether he’s asked to play in zone disguises, man-to-man matchups with linebackers and wide receivers or even be part of Anarumo’s all-out blitzes, Wilson is a face and a body that would be difficult to replace.
Replacing Pratt will be difficult too assuming he walks. The Bengals can easily slide in Davis-Gaither though as he was drafted alongside Wilson in 2020 and plays with similar techniques and styles as Wilson. If Taylor and Anarumo are together in the long run or for even just a few more years as part of the continuity they’ve built together for the last four years, Wilson is already a familiar face that knows their system and vice versa.
If everything blossoms the right way for Wilson, he could find himself as one of the next big name All-Pro linebackers the league has to offer. The Bengals haven’t had an All-Pro linebacker since Vontaze Burfict received the honor almost a decade ago. Wilson might the one to end that drought and that would only strengthen the argument for extending a 26-year-old linebacker well into his prime.
Mohammad Ahmad covers the Bengals for cleveland.com. You can follow him on Twitter @MohammadAhmadTV and read all his coverage at StrictlyStripes.com.
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