The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off a physical loss to the Baltimore Ravens on "Thursday Night Football," in which several notable players were injured. Ravens tight end Mark Andrews and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow each suffered season-ending injuries, while others suffered less-serious ailments during the course of the divisional bout.
One player involved in several plays that resulted in injuries was Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson, leading some fans to speculate that he's a "dirty player." On Friday, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor stood up for his guy, and said it's "completely reckless" to further the narrative that he's out to injure opposing players.
"I do have one more thing I want to say, because one thing that's frustrating was the narrative that's been brought up about Logan Wilson," Taylor said, via Pro Football Talk. "Logan is everything we want to be about, in the way he plays the game. He plays with a toughness and a physicality that is important to that position. It's kind of been brought to my attention the narrative that's out there right now, which I think is completely reckless. He plays the game the right way, and I think people have gotten ahead of themselves, labeling him a certain way, and it's frustrating to see that because I know what he's about and he plays the game the right way. It's unfortunate when a player gets injured. But he's a guy I'm very proud to coach, I'm proud to have as part of this team, but frustrating and a little bit maddening when you see the narrative that started running loose on him because that's not the case at all."
In the first quarter Thursday night, Wilson took down Andrews on a "hip drop tackle," which some believe is a dirty play and should be penalized. The star tight end reportedly suffered a cracked fibula and an ankle ligament injury that will likely cost him the rest of the 2023 season.
Later in the opening quarter, Wilson tackled Lamar Jackson along the sideline, and the quarterback was slow to get up. Jackson even took a trip to the blue medical tent, but did return to the game. In the third quarter, Wilson was involved in another injury when Odell Beckham Jr. went down after a long catch. Wilson came flying in from behind the play, and delivered a huge hit. OBJ was listed as questionable to return to the game with a shoulder injury, but did not reenter the matchup.
There's no doubt Wilson is a physical player, but Taylor thinks it's irresponsible to claim he's out to hurt others.
