Report: Bengals starter expected to miss rest of regular season after surgical cleanup

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson was a linchpin to the team’s defensive unit for much of the 2024 regular season. He accumulated 104 combined tackles, 55 solo tackles, 49 assisted tackles and four quarterback hits in his fifth season as a Bengal.

But NFL Network’s Mike Garafalo reported on Thursday morning that Wilson is expected to miss the remainder of the campaign after he had surgical cleanup on his knee.

Wilson currently has the second-most total tackles of any player on the Bengals to his name behind only Germaine Pratt, who is leading the way with 110. The 28-year-old’s 49 assisted tackles also mark a team-high.

The play of Wilson was one of few positive takeaways from a Bengals defense that has struggled mightily to prevent opponents from putting up points all season long. Cincinnati has allowed teams to score 28.3 points per game during the campaign, which is in a three-way tie for the second-most points per game given up by any team in the league this campaign.

In the Bengals’ most recent loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 1, Cincinnati’s defense gave up a whopping 44 points and 520 total yards of offense.

Wilson’s absence for the remainder of the campaign will only hurt the Bengals’ dwindling playoff hopes. At 4-8, the Bengals own the second-worst record of any team in the AFC North division. Cincinnati has been particularly woeful at home, considering it owns a home record of just 1-5 on the season.

The Bengals’ woeful season wasn’t exactly foreseen, as Cincinnati won more games than it lost in each of the previous three regular seasons. Plus, Joe Burrow has proven himself to be one of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL, and he’s still played at a high level this season, even if it hasn’t led to much collective success for his team.

Burrow is leading the league in total passing yards, passing touchdowns and yards gained per game played. He’s also racked up 300-plus passing yards in each of his past three contests. He had maybe his best passing performance of the campaign to this point when he threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns compared to zero interceptions against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 7.