Cincinnati Bengals Made Major Change on Defense in Sunday's Loss to Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY Wis. — The Bengals made a major change to their defense on Sunday.

Long-time starter and captain Logan Wilson was benched in favor of rookie linebacker Barrett Carter.

Carter led the team with 10 tackles. Meanwhile, Wilson had four tackles and only played one snap in the second half.

“I think that says more about Barrett [Carter] than anything else," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. "Barrett has just been an ascending player and it’s time to see what he can do in a full-time role. We have given him bits and pieces over time and it was just time to throw him into the fire and let him go. Logan [Wilson] still has his role that he will play. We have a lot of confidence in Logan as well. This was just more about giving Barrett an opportunity to see how much potential we can out of him as the season gets going.”

The Bengals are banking on both of their rookie linebackers to make a difference on defense. Demetrius Knight Jr. was tied for second on the team with seven tackles.

The Bengals selected Carter in the fourth round (119th overall) in the 2025 NFL Draft. Knight was a second round pick (49th overall) this year.

The coaching staff clearly believes in their rookie duo. Carter was on the field for all 60 defensive snaps on Sunday according to TruMedia. He wore the green dot and was calling plays for Al Golden's defense against the Packers.

“He (Barrett Carter) was definitely ready for it," Taylor said. "Yeah, I mean I obviously can’t assess his play right now without seeing it, but his mindset has always been one that I have believed in and I thought he had a great mentality all week. We will assess the tape and see how it went.”

Wilson was only on the field for 12 plays on Sunday, with just one snap in the second half.

The Bengals' defense struggled for most of the second half. They got a few snaps early in the game, but couldn't get off the field in the second half.