Logan Wilson (born July 8, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Wyoming Cowboys The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Wyoming, located in Laramie, Wyoming, Laramie. Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 ...

and was selected by the Bengals in the third round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

Early life

Wilson grew up in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the List of municipalities in Wyoming, second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of th ...

and attended

Natrona County High School Natrona County High School (NCHS) is a public secondary school (grades 9–12) located in Casper, Wyoming, United States. It serves Natrona County School District #1, which encompasses all of Natrona County, Wyoming. The school remains a rival ...

, where he played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

and punter on the football team. He was named first-team All-State as a placekicker as a sophomore and as a junior and at

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

, wide receiver and punter as a junior. As a senior, Wilson recorded six

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

and five passes broken up on defense, 29 catches for 493 yards and seven

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on offense and was again named first-team All-State at safety, wide receiver and punter and helped lead the Mustangs to a 12-0 record and a state title. He committed to play

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

with his only other scholarship offer being Weber State.

College career

Wilson

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his true freshman season. As a redshirt freshman, Wilson made 94 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks with seven passes defended, three interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries with one returned for a touchdown and was named the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

Freshman of the Year. Wilson posted 119 tackles, eight tackles for loss, a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery with an interception and two passes defended in his redshirt sophomore season and was named honorable mention All-Mountain West. He was again named honorable mention All-Mountain West as a redshirt junior after making 103 tackles with two sacks and 11 tackles for loss while breaking up four passes with two interceptions. As a senior, Wilson made 105 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss and a sack with four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 11 passes broken up and a forced fumble and was named first-team All-Mountain West and a second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''. Wilson finished his collegiate career with 421 tackles (fourth-most in school history), 35 tackles for loss and seven sacks with 24 passes defended, ten interceptions, four forced fumbles, four fumbles recovered and three defensive touchdowns.

Professional career

2020

Wilson was selected by the

with the 65th pick in the third round of the

. He made his debut in the opening game of 2020, recording two tackles as a reserve linebacker against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. In Week 3 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Wilson recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by

Carson Wentz Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the North Dakota State Bison, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS national championships as the starter. Wentz was s ...

during the 23–23 tie game. In Week 8 against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, Wilson recorded his first career sack on

Ryan Tannehill Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, playing wide receiver until his junior year, and was selected eighth overall by the Miami Dol ...

during the 31–20 win.

2021

Wilson was named the starting middle linebacker for the Bengals heading into the 2021 season. In Week 2 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, Wilson had his first interception of the season against Bears rookie quarterback

Justin Fields Justin Skyler Fields (born March 5, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with the Georgia Bulldogs, he played college football for the Ohio State B ...

in a 20-17 loss at

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...

. On September 26, 2021, Wilson intercepted

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

twice, along with a game-high 14 tackles in route to a 24-10 victory for the Bengals at

Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...

in Week 3. Wilson finished the season with 4 interceptions, leading the team. In the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the top seeded

, Wilson intercepted a tipped throw from

mid-field. This set up an eventual game-winning field goal by

Evan McPherson Evan McPherson ; (born July 21, 1999) is an American professional football placekicker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators before being drafted by the Bengals in th ...

, giving the Bengals their first road playoff win in franchise history, 19-16.

2022

Wilson began the season slow, with only 12 combined tackles in the first 2 games, but broke out for the first time in 2022 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in Week 3, recording 7 tackles, forcing one fumble and intercepting one pass, which he returned 41 yards. Against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in Week 13, Wilson had his career best game, making 14 solo tackles, with an additional three assisted for a total of 17 combined tackles. He was also credited with 0.5 sacks in the game, splitting it with

Vonn Bell Vonn Christian Bell (born December 12, 1994) is an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety. He played college football at Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State and was selected by the New ...

. The following week against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, Wilson combined for 15 tackles and recorded his first sack of the season. At the conclusion of the regular season, Wilson led the team in tackles with 123. In the Bengals' Wild Card playoff win over the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

on January 15, 2023, he forced a fumble from

Tyler Huntley Tyler Isaiah Huntley (born February 3, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback. Nicknamed "Snoop", he played college football for the Utah Utes football, Utah Utes, leading them to Pac-12 South Division titl ...

on the Bengals' 1-yard line, which teammate

Sam Hubbard Sam Hubbard (born June 29, 1995) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for his entire seven-year career with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the O ...

recovered and returned 98 yards for a touchdown. In turn, Wilson's effort helped this to become the record for the longest fumble return for a touchdown in the NFL postseason, as well as being the longest go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter in the postseason, and the longest touchdown in Bengals playoff history.

2023

On August 4, 2023, Wilson signed a four-year contract extension with the

. On September 25, while facing the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, Wilson intercepted Rams quarterback

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Georg ...

twice. This tied his previous career high of two interceptions in a single game from 2021. In Week 6 against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, Wilson was credited with 0.5 sacks, splitting with B. J. Hill. He made a crucial interception in the fourth quarter of the Bengals' Week 8 against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, returning it for 16 yards setting up a go-ahead touchdown. Wilson led the team in tackles for the third straight year with 135 combined tackles, his career best season.

2024

Wilson started 11 games for the Bengals in 2024, compiling 1 pass deflection, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 104 combined tackles. On December 6, 2024, it was announced that Wilson would be placed on injured reserve after undergoing season–ending knee surgery.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioWyoming Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Logan 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Wyoming Sportspeople from Casper, Wyoming American football linebackers Wyoming Cowboys football players Cincinnati Bengals players