Logan Wilson on Contract Extension, Future With Cincinnati Bengals
Logan Wilson on Contract Extension, Future With Cincinnati Bengals
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00:00 Fun press conference for me, you know get a chance to talk a little bit about Logan and just really impressive from start all the way
00:07 To this point and the first time I know he came out on our radar
00:10 Our Scouts were raving about him before the Senior Bowl
00:14 we went to the Senior Bowl a lot of our coaches got a chance to interact with him on the other team and
00:18 That's when he really really popped onto my radar
00:22 Got a chance to talk to coach bowl over the years and he's always raved about Logan as a player and a person
00:29 You know, 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
00:36 Hoping and praying that he'd still be available
00:38 Unfortunately, he was but now he's a guy that that our whole building had a ton of conviction on through the pre-draft process
00:45 Everything you hear about his family and his upbringing and his experience at Wyoming and the impact he's had on people at his high school
00:52 It's tremendous. And so we're fortunate to have him
00:56 Fortunate to get a deal done with them. That's well deserved by Logan. And so we're set for years to come
01:02 With such a great great piece of the puzzle and Logan Wilson
01:06 So excited to introduce him at this press conference and I'll turn it over him and walk away
01:09 It's almost like just like a sigh of relief that things are done
01:20 and you can just continue to go out and play football and
01:24 You know what I've done throughout the last
01:26 You know now four years coming into this year. I think it's gonna be another fun year for us
01:49 Yeah, I mean a lot of the negotiations and whatnot were done by my my agent and then he just kind of relayed some of
01:54 that information to me and then
01:56 That's just kind of how things were done. Obviously, I know well the guys that we want to get done too
02:00 and so
02:00 I still think that this contract allows them to get those things done with those guys and hopefully we're able to keep them
02:06 Long term as well
02:08 It means a lot to me to be a small part of this
02:17 Organization from kind of where we were, you know in covet year
02:20 winning like four football games to where we're at now and
02:24 To be a small part of that is is very rewarding for me. It's humbling
02:29 you know, it's a it's kind of what you the reason you do things to kind of turn a program around like we have and
02:34 It's just it's very fun to play for coach Taylor and the stuff that he's
02:38 Instilled in us as players and the way that he's led this organization
02:43 You know, we've I think we've ignited the city of Cincinnati and we just got to keep that fire moving forward
02:48 I was here at work
02:55 So I didn't really call anyone right away
02:59 You know, I told my parents about it
03:02 I just kept via text message, but I couldn't really couldn't really call them and let them know but they knew they knew it was
03:08 Getting close, you know, so I was keeping them updated
03:12 No, you're good
03:14 Yeah
03:17 Yeah
03:20 Very nice
03:22 I think it's um
03:23 It's very rare to be able to play with someone, you know
03:25 next to you for as long as we're gonna be able to play next to each other and
03:29 I think we've both helped each other grow as players and we're only going to continue to do that and
03:34 Coach Betts has helped us as players as well. And so I think that the sky's the limit
03:39 we still have a ton of things that we can get better at and
03:41 You know, we just put our put our heads forward and go to work every day and try to get better
03:46 I think that's just what makes football so unique in general is you got guys coming from all sorts of different backgrounds
04:01 It doesn't matter where they came from
04:02 But you're all coming together with one goal in mind and that's to win a Super Bowl
04:06 and so when guys have that same goal in mind you can help each other get better and
04:10 Push each other not just Jermaine and I but every other linebacker in our linebackers room
04:14 push them to be great because
04:17 You know, I learned a long time ago. You're only as strong as your weakest link
04:20 And so, you know look those guys that might not be playing on Sundays, but they're playing on practice squad getting reps
04:27 Giving us a look on scout team like as long when they give a good look
04:31 It helps us get better and prepared for Sundays
04:33 And so we just push everyone to be as good as they can be
04:36 Not really, you know originally
04:47 You know my agent kind of let me know right away is like no this shouldn't be
04:50 This shouldn't be a problem and I knew I wanted to be here
04:54 And so I'm just glad we were able to get something done
04:56 Yeah
05:02 Why was that and was there ever a moment where you wondered
05:06 He always I think you always
05:15 Wonder it because you just never know in this league
05:17 it's there's that business aspect that you just never know when stuff can happen like that and
05:21 For me one of the biggest reasons why I didn't want to leave was being a part of the turnaround that we've had here and not
05:26 Wanting to leave what we've kind of started, you know, kind of keep that train moving forward and
05:31 Playing for my one of the biggest reasons is I wanted to keep playing for coach Taylor
05:34 I think he's such a players coach. He takes care of us like no other, you know, probably team does and
05:39 Guys recover better because of that he takes care of us if you're injured
05:44 I mean all these different things you can go into it. I mean, he's he's awesome
05:48 He's been tremendous to play for and there's just no other coach. I wanted to play for at the end
05:53 Seem like you're down playing kind of the whole news of this
05:59 But when you start in the NFL, I mean I feel like most players dreams
06:07 Right
06:10 When you think of it that way did you have any feelings about
06:14 Wow, I really made it or was it really just like you're well, it's done and now I can focus on
06:22 I think it was probably a little both. I mean like you said, it's the it's the contract you you want to get towards and
06:29 As you probably know that from talking to me
06:32 I'm big on just living in the moment live being present and just kind of focusing on that and
06:36 letting those outside things kind of take care of themselves if you just put in the work and
06:40 You know, we're able to get that done
06:43 I think it really hit me when I came home and
06:45 You know, my wife was in tears of joy because it's just like one of those things. It's like
06:49 It's a sigh of relief in a sense that you got that security and it's done and now you can just you know
06:55 Move forward and you know be in Cincinnati for the next five years
06:58 My shoulder 100% yeah going through that injury how much pain it was to even
07:12 Get the the tearing of the dislocation done that was was horrible and then
07:20 going from you know questioning whether or not you were gonna be able to play again that year to
07:25 Rehabbing for three weeks coming back playing and then you know, I thought I played pretty well for the most part
07:31 Come back from a shoulder injury like that. And so I think that's where I kind of you know grew the most is just
07:38 Understanding what I could endure in this in this game because it is a game of pain whether or not you want to say it
07:44 like that
07:45 And so to go through that that shoulder injury and bounce back from that adversity the way that I did
07:51 I think you know helped me grow
07:53 Rank it
08:03 I mean, it's definitely up there because it's
08:07 The stage doesn't get a whole lot bigger than that one. So
08:11 You know, unfortunately we had the infamous pass interference, but you know for the most part
08:17 I thought I played very well that game and gave us a chance to win
08:20 Yeah, I mean we got some we got some new guys obviously in the back end losing Jesse and Vaughn which is never easy but
08:32 You know, they're they're they're putting their hats down and they're going to work and that's what that's all you can ask from those guys
08:37 And they're gonna get better and I think it's also on Jermaine and I being in that kind of that mid-tier
08:42 you know, we're in between the D line and the safety is to be able to kind of help them on certain things and
08:46 Teach them why we do that or what we're gonna do versus this and I think they'll they'll learn from it and they're they're busy
08:53 Soaking up all the information they can right now and they're gonna they're gonna do great for us
09:05 Yeah, for sure, I'm not necessarily the the rah-rah motivational speaker type of guy
09:09 But I think on the field we're in the green dot you kind of have to have that leadership
09:13 mentality that you do need to be able to kind of calm guys down when stuff goes when stuff hits the fan because
09:19 That's the nature of this game. You know, they're gonna make plays too. They're getting paid on that side of the ball and so
09:23 Just keeping guys calm cool and collected throughout the game. I think is one of the biggest things you can do
09:28 You started your career on the back end and you obviously have a skill set but making the transition from being linebacker, what kind of a sense of gratitude do you have for the coaches that have helped you in that transition all the way to the current coach?
09:40 Yeah, I mean I wouldn't be here standing in front of you if he wasn't for all them and I make sure that that's known
09:47 you know, I
09:48 Coach Bull was the first one that obviously switched me at Wyoming to linebacker and then
09:54 Scotty Hazleton, who's the DC at Michigan State right now. He actually texted me about saying congratulations keeping in touch
10:00 He was at our wedding last summer and he went through some stuff to try to make it to the wedding because he was on
10:04 Vacation, but that's another side. No, it's just it's cool to see the
10:08 Support that I have from from coaches like that
10:11 You know
10:11 I I credit a lot of my development to coach Hazleton because he was like really my first
10:17 full-time linebackers coach and I got to have him for a couple years and
10:21 we ran the kind of an NFL style cover three system in college with him and
10:25 Just really helped me develop and understand the linebacker play and
10:30 You know
10:32 I'm forever grateful for him and obviously coach bull for switching me to that spot because like I said
10:36 I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you guys today
10:38 I didn't really I just kind of kept to myself with the contract situation. Honestly
10:47 What's it like being part of a draft class? I mean you and Tee and Joe all at the top of really transforming it. Where do you get to see that kind of impact from a whole group like that? What's it been like?
10:57 So like you kind of mentioned earlier, being at the beginning and then having to be part of that process turning around where it is now?
11:02 Yeah, it's awesome. I think
11:04 To have the three of us like that. I mean even the other guys that were in our class are all have all
11:09 contributed in some form or fashion and done really well for us and
11:13 You know, we obviously we're all rooting for each other
11:16 and I think that that's also rare because sometimes guys are just trying to you know, get theirs in a sense and
11:21 This whole team camaraderie that we have is just rare and that's also another reason why I wanted to be a part of it
11:27 Yeah
11:30 Kind of kept to my usual
11:37 Regimen, you know did some body works and Pilates massage all that kind of stuff
11:41 And I went to breakfast with my wife before you know that but
11:44 Yeah, maybe eventually we'll get to a celebratory dinner once we once we get some time
11:50 Um, I
11:55 Don't know. I haven't really we thought about that. We might change move houses, but who knows we'll see
12:01 I don't I
12:11 I right when the news broke Mike Hilton went into the meeting
12:14 Into his meeting and then he must have seen it in the meeting when I was still at my locker and came back out and
12:20 It was just kind of staring at me laughing and just this was like what?
12:23 Because I didn't know it broke at the time yet. He goes I know what and so
12:28 That was awesome. He's just it's cool to see guys that are that were happy for me to to sign that so
12:34 I
12:36 Think I'm trying to think probably
12:49 When you when you get your like first turnover, maybe first interception, you know
12:55 Because that's obviously the biggest thing that you want to do on defense
12:57 Yeah, you can make tackles but at the end of the day, it's about the ball
13:00 And so when I get my first interception
13:04 I feel like I could my game could translate to this level and then I'm just trying to obviously work to get it better every day
13:10 Does it change your own feeling about your importance to the future of the organization
13:29 I mean maybe a little bit
13:31 But at the end of the day Mike my mindset is never gonna change my mind says what got me here
13:36 I mean at this point in my career and
13:38 I'm just not gonna change that because it's just not who I am and this this is what's helped me be successful
13:44 So I'm gonna continue to do it
13:46 Thanks, Logan.