#Bengals LB Logan Wilson underwent surgery last week to repair a torn labrum, per source. Played with the full tear throughout back end of season, playoffs and Super Bowl, recording 39 tackles (four for loss) and an interception in the postseason. Will make full recovery.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 27, 2022
Wilson suffered the injury in a Week 13 loss to the Chargers and was carted off the field. But he felt good enough to return four weeks later and helped the Bengals clinch the AFC North title in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
After the game, Wilson said there was a chance he might need surgery. The team doctor had told him it was a “high probability” when he initially injured it and Wilson admitted he thought his season might be done. However, he saw enough improvement to return and proved instrumental in the Bengals’ run to the Super Bowl.
Wilson made 39 tackles (four for loss) and had one interception on the final defensive play of the team’s 19-16 win at Tennessee in the divisional round before Evan McPherson won the game on a last-second field goal.
“I just thought to myself like that’s all I need is that little percentage,” Wilson said after the Week 17 win over Kansas City of the original prognosis. “They’re saying there’s a chance that I cannot have surgery so I’m gonna do everything in my power to rehab it the right way. I eat really healthy, but I also tried to limit foods that were gonna inflame my body so it gives my shoulder the best chance to heal and let the rest go to what my Lord wanted to happen. Just took it one day at a time and here we are.”
Wilson’s return was surprising not just because he had been carted off the field but also in the timing. Just two days after coach Zac Taylor called him “highly doubtful” to play in Week 17, Wilson was back on the field as a full participant in practice that Wednesday.
The 2020 third-round draft pick didn’t skip a beat in his return and was part of a defense that limited the second-highest scoring offense in the league to three points in the second half while the Bengals rallied for a 34-31 win. He rested with other starters in the regular-season finale, then played every defensive snap in the playoffs, including two games with double-digit combined tackles.
Wilson served as a leader on the defense, wearing the green dot as the communicator on the field for the coaching staff. He’s played 25 regular-season games in two seasons, including starts in all 13 games he played this year after climbing from a backup role as a rookie.
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