Bengals LBs Logan Wilson, Barrett Carter, Coaches Zac Taylor, Al Golden Weigh in on Risky Lineup Change

CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson didn’t try to hide how unhappy he is about the coaches’ decision to replace him with rookie Barrett Carter.

But Wilson also made it clear that his feelings that his demotion will in no way affect how he interacts with Carter.

“I found about this (last) Monday, and I put my arm around him, and I told him, ‘There’s gonna be no hard feelings between us. Just know that I’m not gonna change who I am,’” Wilson said. “I told myself I was not got going to change who I am because of a time of adversity in my life. Whenever my career is done, (I want to) look back at this time of adversity be able to tell my kids how to get through.”

Carter made his first NFL start Sunday in Green Bay and took ownership of the green dot helmet, which has the radio transmission with the coaches and has belonged to Wilson since 2021.

Though Wilson technically started alongside Carter, the 29-year-veteran played just 12 snaps, only one of which came in the second half.

Which, ironically, is when the Bengals defense needed a veteran presence the most as they struggled to get off the field against the Packers as the Cincinnati offense was heating up and giving the team a chance to win.

As direct as Wilson was about his reaction to the move, defensive coordinator Al Golden was less so about the specific issues leading to the move.

“It was a collective thought of, ‘Let's give Barrett a try. We'll see where we're at with him and see if it brings a different energy,’” Golden said.  “But that's really it. It has nothing to do with Logan. It was just about giving Barrett an opportunity, and we'll see how it unfolds moving forward.”

If ‘Let’s see how it goes” was the plan, how can ‘Let’s do it again” be the decision moving forward.

Barrett had breakdowns on two key plays – one of which he shared with fellow rookie starter Demetrius Knight Jr. – and Pro Football Focus had Carter with the second lowest grade (34.4) on the Cincinnati defense, ahead of only Jordan Battle (29.5).

“I think he’s going to get better with every rep he gets,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “He and Demetrius (Knight) out there play with a lot of energy. It’s a room that’s going to continue to improve.

“We’ve got a lot of rookies out there playing right now,” Taylor added. “They’re going to get better with every single game that they have and all the experience they can gather. I think it’s worthwhile for them to gain that experience.”

At 2-4 with the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) coming to town in two days, the Bengals may not have the luxury of on-the-job-training.

Offenses are going to stress the rookie linebackers.

And the rookie linebackers are going to stress the coaches.

“High anxiety any time you have two rookie guys out there,” Golden said. “But if you're going to have two rookie guys out there, those are the two that we want.”

Asked if he thought he was playing well enough, Wilson said he did.

“But obviously Zac felt otherwise,” he said.

“The reason I was given was they wanted a spark on defense,” Wilson added. “I don’t know exactly what that means. When I asked if there was anything I could do to improve and be better, I wasn’t really given a great reason. That’s the hardest part about the whole situation.”

Per Sport Radar, the Bengals had 19 missed tackles in the loss to the Packers.

That’s the most in the Taylor era. The previous high was 14 in the 41-38 home loss to the Ravens last year.

Since 2007 when Sport Radar began tracking the stat, the only game in which the Bengals had more missed tackles was the 2016 season-opening loss to the Jets, when they had 20.

Knight had six missed tackles in Green Bay, which is tied for the most in the NFL this year, and Carter had three.

Asked how many missed tackles he saw on film, Golden said, “too many.”

“That was the first time I was disappointed in our tackling,” Golden said. “Not that we haven't missed tackles, because guys are good in this league. Guys in space are good. But that was the first time.

“(I’m) not discouraged, but that was the first time I was disappointed in the yards after catch and the number of them.”

And then there were the plays when no one was in position to make a tackle, such as Josh Jacobs’ 14-yard touchdown run when neither Knight nor Carter filled the A gap, leaving a huge hole up the middle for the running back to cruise through.

“We just have to play it better. We don't have a direct gap order,” Carter said. “We're supposed to just finish on the ball, and that's what we failed to do, obviously, on that play. We have to trust our eyes, trust our instincts and play that better. That's a play we've both made many, many times, so we've got to take that off the table.”

Carter had another play where he lost track of Jacobs out of the backfield, leading to Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love finding the running back while scrambling for a 9-yard gain in the fourth quarter as the Bengals were trying to get the ball back to quarterback Joe Flacco and the offense.

"I've got to have better eyes and see the whole field," Carter said. "I'm seeing (Love) back there, dancing around and I thought he was about to pull the ball down and run, so I was going to get him. But I obviously have to have better vision. That's on me. I have to have better accountability on that."

Carter obviously is thrilled about his opportunity.

And he said he’s grateful for the way Wilson has handled it the way it has come about.

“He’s the best veteran I ever could have asked for,” Carter said. “He’s been helpful since the day I got here. I just have so much love and respect for that guy, just how he handles things and for his approach every single day.”

Golden also praised Wilson for his professionalism.

But the Bengals are taking a big risk by inserting two rookies into the middle of an already struggling defense.

“I trusted (Carter). That’s why we made the decision, because he’s shown operationally that he can handle it,” Taylor said. “I think anytime you put a rookie out there, there’s an element of risk to it. When are you going to expose yourself to that risk? Are you going to do it sooner rather than later?”