Contrary to what may be conventional wisdom, when you get the platform to cover your favorite sports team, you want to see them do well. Negativity can be a powerful agent for page views, but when I criticize the Cincinnati Bengals, it comes from wanting the very best for them.
It's dope to be proven wrong when the Bengals actually get something right. Can't say it happens as often as I'd like, but hey, baby steps here.
Almost everything is always just so difficult for Cincinnati as an organization, though. Tasks winning franchises pull off with such ease feel like insurmountable challenges for Duke Tobin and Co.
So yes, while it looks like the Bengals made the right call to trade linebacker Logan Wilson around the 2025 NFL deadline, their dreadful team-building planning is what should be scrutinized above all else.
Logan Wilson's release from Cowboys doesn't erase Bengals front office's 2025 disaster class
Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz and many others reported on how the Dallas Cowboys released Logan Wilson on Friday, saving $6 million in salary cap space for 2026.
I did think the Dallas Cowboys fleeced the Bengals when Wilson got traded. As far as I was concerned, trading Wilson symbolized punting on the 2025 season. Yes, Joe Burrow's injury was a big factor that contributed to that mindset, but Wilson had been elected a captain for the first time in his career.
Why the 'Boys traded for Wilson only to bench him behind a shabby linebacker corps is beyond my comprehension. Dallas does weird crap, too. What has Jerry Jones won lately? Nothing of consequence is the answer. He has few people to blame more than himself.
A recent article by yours truly went deep on the horrendous decision-making behind the Bengals' linebacker room last season. They had Wilson entering only the second season of a four-year contract extension. They signed Eagles Super Bowl starter Oren Burks in free agency. Germaine Pratt was still under contract.
Didn't stop Tobin and his minions from plumbing for Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter in Rounds 2 and 4. Wilson got benched quite early in the 2025 campaign, paving the way for a Knight-Carter linebacker duo.
That's as glaring of an example of poor roster construction and personnel resource allocation as you'll ever see in professional sports. The results made it even worse.
Whatever is a more severe term for "liability," Knight and Carter fit that description. Missed tackles galore. Dreadful run fits. Horrendous in pass coverage. Anything a functional starting NFL linebacker should be passable at, Knight and Carter were terrible in all areas.
So yes, I'm of the opinion that the Bengals shouldn't double down on those dudes. In fact, they should triple-dip this offseason. Twice in free agency, once in the draft if Ohio State's Sonny Styles is on the board at 10th overall. I'm not the only one gassing up Styles to Cincinnati, either.
You see my point about Wilson, though? Those who defend the Bengals' decision-makers will laugh and say, "SEE!? SWEET VINDICATION!"
Congrats. Your front office traded away a player not even halfway through the contract extension you gave him. Then, his new team turned around and released him as a cost-saving measure.
Maybe I'm biased since I personally interviewed him before the season, but I also have eyeballs. They tell me Wilson is far better than Knight, Carter, and the poor-by-NFL-standard Cowboys 'backers Dallas trotted on the field ahead of him.
I believe a healthy Logan Wilson can still be a productive asset to any team he lands with next. To me, his exit from the Cowboys is more of a financial necessity for them than an indictment of the player.
PS, do a quick check on the last time the Bengals had an impactful seventh-round pick. I'll wait. Just kidding. I won't. I'd never leave this ridiculous/nebulous scenario.