Bengals LB Logan Wilson requests trade following significant decrease in playing time, per report

Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson wants out of Cincinnati, as ESPN reported on Thursday that the 29-year-old has requested a trade.

Wilson has started in all seven games played this season, but he has seen his snap count decrease recently. After playing 100% of the team's defensive snaps in the Week 5 loss to the Detroit Lions, Wilson played just 19.7% in the Week 6 loss to the Green Bay Packers and 45.6% in the Thursday night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bengals appear poised to move forward with rookies Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. as their starting linebackers. Knight, who was selected by Cincinnati in the second round, has played the majority of defensive snaps in every game this season, and is tied for the team lead in tackles with 50. Carter, who was a fourth-round pick out of Clemson, played just 18.4% of defensive snaps in Week 1, but has played every snap on defense in the last two games.

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Despite the change in snap count, Carter told ESPN that Wilson has continued to be a great leader. 

"It hasn't changed our relationship at all," Carter said. "I still lean on him heavily with stuff, still ask him questions every single day. He's been a great leader, just like the man he is since the day I got here."

Wilson was a third-round pick of the Bengals in 2020 out of Wyoming. He became a full-time starter in his second NFL season, which was the year Cincinnati made its run to Super Bowl LVI. In four playoff games that postseason, Wilson recorded 39 tackles, three passes defensed and one interception. That 2021 season marked the first of four straight in which Wilson recorded 100 combined tackles. 

In 2023, Wilson signed a four-year extension that was worth up to $37.25 million. He responded with a career year, racking up 135 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, two forced fumbles, nine passes defensed and four interceptions. 

Now he's one of the players that could be moved before the Nov. 4 trade deadline.