Bengals agree to $37.25M extension with rising star

Although Joe Burrow‘s extension is not yet completed, the Bengals are checking off another key box on their offseason to-do list. Logan Wilson will not play out a contract year.

The Bengals and Wilson agreed to terms on a four-year, $37.25M extension Friday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. The deal will give the fourth-year linebacker an $11.2M average annual value over its first two years. Wilson had entered Friday joining Burrow, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd as key contract-year Bengals. No longer, as the team now has he and Germaine Pratt — re-signed in free agency — locked up.

Wilson, 27, has resided on Cincinnati’s extension radar for a while now. The full terms of the deal are not yet known, but on the surface, it will not quite check in among the top-10 off-ball linebacker contracts. Just as they did with Orlando Brown Jr.‘s deal, the Bengals look to be frontloading it. Wilson’s overall AAV will be $9.3M — good enough for a tie with the Saints’ Demario Davis in 11th at the position. While the salary cap’s rise would suggest higher payouts, this year’s market did not produce a host of impact deals for ILBs.

Pratt enjoyed a strong contract year but could only score a three-year, $20.25M accord in free agency. The Bengals brought back Pratt while letting safeties Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell walk. Pratt received just $7M guaranteed. It should be expected Wilson’s contract will provide him more security, as the Bengals have relied on the Wyoming alum as a three-down player — responsibilities that Pratt does not have — during their rise into an AFC power.

It will be interesting to see what the Bengals are guaranteeing Wilson, as a $9.3M AAV leaves a bit to be desired for a player who would have certainly enjoyed a nice market — barring a major injury — in 2024. The cap’s restoration following a 2021 reduction will give teams more to spend, and this year’s ILB market did include $18M- and $10M-per-year payments — to Tremaine Edmunds and Bobby Okereke. The round of Pratt-level pacts handed out may have come about because of the volume of second-tier-type off-ball ‘backers available. But Wilson will bypass a free-agency bid, giving the Bengals what looks like a big win ahead of the 2023 season.

From Boyd to Bates to Higgins to Pratt to Sam Hubbard, the Bengals have found several quality starters on Day 2 of the draft over the past several years. Wilson is squarely on that list, arriving as the No. 65 overall pick in 2020. The Bengals made Wilson a full-time player in 2021, giving him an 83% defensive snap rate. Last season, Wilson played a career-high 955 defensive snaps — a 97% rate — and ranked as a top-20 linebacker in the view of Pro Football Focus.

After a 100-tackle 2021, Wilson made 123 stops last season. Despite his linebacker role, Wilson has intercepted seven passes and deflected 11 more over the first three years of his career. Wilson added 2.5 sacks and seven QB hits last season, solidifying himself as one of the NFL’s top young linebackers. The Bengals lost both their starting safeties from the past three years, but DC Lou Anarumo will have his top two linebackers locked down for the foreseeable future. While Pratt’s contract is a pay-as-you-go setup, he is signed through 2025. Wilson is locked in through 2027.