Bengals' Zac Taylor defends Logan Wilson after Mark Andrews injury

The Baltimore Ravens lost tight end Mark Andrews to what is likely a season-ending left ankle injury when Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson brought Andrews down via a controversial "hip drop" tackle during Thursday night's game that Baltimore won 34-20. 

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor defended Wilson shortly after Taylor confirmed that starting quarterback Joe Burrow will miss the remainder of the 2023 season with a wrist injury. 

"Logan is everything we want to be about, in the way he plays the game," Taylor said, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "He plays with a toughness and a physicality that is important to that position. It’s kind of been brought to my attention the narrative that’s out there right now, which I think is completely reckless. He plays the game the right way, and I think people have gotten ahead of themselves, labeling him a certain way, and it’s frustrating to see that because I know what he’s about and he plays the game the right way." 

It was believed this past offseason that the NFL could discuss banning so-called "hip drop" tackles beginning with the ongoing campaign after Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered injuries linked with the technique. As noted by Ben Axelrod of Awful Announcing, retired NFL defensive stars Bart Scott and Ryan Clark disagreed with each other during Friday's edition of the ESPN "First Take" program while discussing if "hip drop" tackles are dirty plays. 

"It’s unfortunate when a player gets injured," Taylor added during his comments. "But he’s a guy I’m very proud to coach, I’m proud to have as part of this team, but frustrating and a little bit maddening when you see the narrative that started running loose on him because that’s not the case at all."

Pro Football Talk mentioned this past February that the National Rugby League in Australia banned "hip drop" tackles because of injuries linked with plays such as the one that sidelined Andrews. Following Thursday's developments, it seems likely at least some within the NFL will look to outlaw the tackling technique this offseason.