Bengals Beat: Logan Wilson Plans On Keeping Football Fire In Cincinnati ‘Moving Forward’, Camp Drones On

CINCINNATI — We’ve reached the point of camp, with the Green Bay Packers preparing to descend on Cincinnati for Wednesday’s joint practice, where it’s time to clean out the notebook.

The Bengals are still crunching the numbers on a Joe Burrow extension that will push the great cap budget wizardry of Katie Blackburn to the limits.

They are also having conversations, off and on, with David Mulugheta of Athletes First, the firm that represents Tee Higgins.

Those are the two remaining big questions remaining on a roster that is now set after the four-year, $37.25 million extension that made both the Bengals and star linebacker Logan Wilson very happy.

The Bengals have already extended fellow linebacker Germaine Pratt for three years through 2025, defensive edge and pass rushing demon Trey Hendrickson through 2025 and re-negotiated Joe Mixon’s contract to save $10 million over the next two years.

The Wilson deal, signed Saturday, means the Bengals just have two significant pieces to resolve.

But one thing is for sure, Wilson and the Bengals are set for a great partnership over the next four seasons.

“It means a lot to me to be a small part of this organization from kind of where we were in the COVID year, winning like four football games to where we’re at now and to be a small part of that is very rewarding for me,” Wilson said Sunday in humbly accepting the chance to talk with the media about his deal.

“It’s humbling. It’s kind of the reason you do things to kind of turn a program around like we have, and it’s just very fun to play for Coach Taylor and the stuff that he’s instilled in us as players, and the way that he’s led this organization. I think we’ve ignited the city of Cincinnati and we’ve just got to keep that fire moving forward.”

Zac Taylor spent a minute introducing Wilson on the dais Sunday, genuinely expressing the relief of having a calm, cool leader in the locker room who would have been in the Super Bowl LVI MVP conversation had it not been for a highly questionable call on Wilson (which he again referenced Sunday) and a missed blocking assignment on fourth down on Cincinnati’s last drive against the Rams.

Taylor reaffirmed Sunday that the Bengals always had their sights on Wilson when he was at Wyoming in college.

“A fun press conference for me, get a chance to talk a little bit about Logan and just really impressive from start all the way to this point,” Taylor said. “And the first time I know he came on our radar, our scouts were raving about him before the Senior Bowl. We went to the Senior Bowl, a lot of our coaches got a chance to interact with him on the other team. And that’s when he really really popped on my radar.

“Got a chance to talk to (Wyoming) Coach (Craig) Bohl over the years, and he’s always raved about Logan as a player and a person. He’s one of those draft experiences that I have, where we really crossed our fingers for every single pick that came off the board, hoping and praying that he’d still be available.

“Fortunately, he was, but he’s a guy that that our whole building had a ton of conviction on through the pre-draft process, everything you hear about his family and his upbringing and his experience in Wyoming and the impact he’s had on people at his high school is tremendous, and so we’re fortunate to have him, fortunate to get a deal done with him that’s well deserved by Logan. And so we’re set for years to come with such a great, great piece of the puzzle in Logan Wilson, so excited to introduce him at this press conference and I’ll turn it over to him and walk away.”

There’s some irony in those words from Taylor because the Bengals have been able to leave Wilson on his own because he’s been so reliable in the defensive scheme of Lou Anarumo. The beauty of having Wilson on the team is that he’s productive on the field and a leader off it.

“He’s really good. Sometimes, I give him too much because I’m telling him, ‘Hey, tell this guy this, tell that guy that,’ and he still has to get the call out, and down and distance and all the things that we put on him,” Anarumo told me. “But he manages it well. He doesn’t flinch. None of our guys do, but again, in the stress of the game, when you’re running around and you’re breathing heavy, and then you got to listen to somebody in your head, literally, he handles it all very well.”

The Bengals, thanks to the work of Katie Blackburn and director of player personnel Duke Tobin, have kept their top two players in the middle of a Top 10 defense, in Wilson and Pratt. That seemed unlikely entering free agency last March.

“I mean I always give credit where credit’s due certainly with Duke and the crew upstairs and ownership, in the way they’ve been able to handle all this stuff and with the contracts,” Anarumo added. “Yeah, it’s great. The more consistent we can be with our players, the better, we’re going to be.”

DRONING ON:

There was an unexpected and uninvited visitor to Bengals camp practice Sunday. It hovered about 50 feet above the ground and took in about 15 minutes of work. The drone caused a stir among those Bengals front office staffers and coaches since it didn’t belong to the team. Was it the work of another team trying to get a head start on scouting? Was it the handiwork of some fan trying to get some unique views of practice. Was it a government plant to observe things in and around the practice field? Was it the Patriots?

There were no immediate answers available to any and all wild theories offered up Sunday.

THE CHASE IS ON:

Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack had big-time praise for rookie running back Chase Brown Sunday. The rookie out of Illinois is trying to not just make the team but show he can be an impact in the running game in preseason and on special teams as a coverage specialist when the season begins.

“Explosive, explosive. He’s got good vision. He’s learning on the timing of the exchanges,” Pollack said of Brown’s run and pass catching skills. “When it’s RPO, he can’t be as quick to the whole, because the quarterback’s gotta read, but for the most part, he’s making good decisions from his vision standpoint and his reads. It’s been impressive from a run game perspective that jumps out at me. He’s he’s a talented back. I’m excited to see that guy continue to do this through training camp.”

CAPPA STRAINS:

Starting right guard Alex Cappa came out of practice midway through Sunday’s session with what Pollack termed as a minor “strain”. One could safely assume it was a lower body issue and that it wasn’t regarded as serious as Cappa remained on the sideline and continued to take in practice as an observer. Trey Hill filled in for him at right guard. Meanwhile, Max Scharping took reps at center on the second team unit, a role that Hill normally fills as the backup to Ted Karras.

CAMP HARD KNOCKS:

There were some loud sounds coming from camp Sunday, including hits by Nick Scott on Drew Sample and Joe Bachie on Chase Brown in 11-on-11 drills. Chase had a nice touchdown catch from Trevor Siemian but was called for pushing off on Cam Taylor-Britt by coaches, as Chase appeared to punt the ball into the air in frustration for the call. He rallied on the next play for a TD. Tee Higgins caught a nice in-cut for a practice-ending TD. In another sign that it’s still camp, Sam Hubbard shoved Ted Karras after a play in apparent frustration for words in the head of battle in the trenches. No hard feelings. The two were laughing and joking with Joe Burrow at Burrow’s locker after practice.

CHIDO TIME:

Chido Awuzie had his first involvement Sunday in team drills as he shadowed rookie receiver Andrei Iosivas midway through. The corner was cleared to practice at the start of camp but Zac Taylor and staff are taking their time working him to full speed while also getting a thorough look at the likes of DJ Turner II, DJ Ivey and veteran corner Sidney Jones IV. Awuzie is fully rehabbed from his ACL surgery last November and is expected to be ready to go for the season opener Sept. 10 in Cleveland.

TEE NOT TALKING CONTRACT:

Not that it should surprise anyone but Tee Higgins is letting his play do all his talking. He’s leaving the contract extension matter for “private” discussions with his agent David Mulugheta. That didn’t stop him from showing the love for Logan Wilson and his contract extension. Wilson, Higgins and Burrow all came into the league with the Bengals in 2020. Wilson is the first of the trio to be extended by the team.

“I wasn’t surprised at all because he deserved it,” Higgins said Sunday. “I’m super proud of him. Cincy’s got a good linebacker for next 4 years. I’ve got to prepare my body for gametime Week 1. I’m not really worried about what’s going on off the field. I’m going to leave that privately.”

JA’MARR DOUBLES DOWN ON BURROW:

Ja’Marr Chase reiterated Sunday that he wants to be sure his quarterback is 100 percent healthy when he returns and that there is zero reason for him to return before he’s fully healthy.

Chase told Andrew Siciliano and Brian Baldinger on Friday after practice that he doesn’t want Burrow to play Week 1 in Cleveland. The assumption there is that Burrow might not be 100 percent recovered from his right calf strain by then. If that’s the case, Chase wants Burrow to sit out.

“We’ll be OK as long as he’s there for the end of the season,” Chase said. “We’re worried about the big picture, not the small picture. That’s what we’re trying to win here.”

Chase noted how he took an extra week off last season after being cleared to play after sustaining the hip injury against the Falcons just to be sure he was full speed, ready to go.

On Sunday, Chase said he was simply insisting that Burrow not risk anything by playing. But if Burrow is fine and feels good to go, that’s a different story.