Cowboys linebacker Logan Wilson played zero snaps on Christmas Day against the Commanders despite being healthy and active. Backup quarterback Joe Milton was the only other active player not to play a down.
Wilson had averaged 28 snaps per game since the Cowboys acquired him from the Bengals at the trade deadline in November.
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Not only was Wilson confused about his absence, so, too, was owner Jerry Jones.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said the team planned to play Wilson. The Cowboys didn’t play Wilson because, well, they sort of forgot about him.
“We only had 21 snaps [on defense] in the first half,” Schottenheimer said Monday, via Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News. “We kind of messed the rotation in the second half. It’s not the first time it has happened. It won’t be the last time. It happens with receivers. It happens with defensive linemen. It shouldn’t happen. But we take that as a coaching staff.”
Jones said the day after the game he didn’t have an explanation for why Wilson was MIA.
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“We planned to have him in there. He needs to be in there. He has good instincts,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “The reason we got him was because he reads the play quick and can basically be in his lane of responsibility and react quick. It’s critical that a linebacker have quick reacting [ability]. He’s able to do that. That’s why we got him.”
Schottenheimer said it was a mistake to play Kenneth Murray all 44 snaps, Shemar James 36 snaps and Marist Liufau two snaps at linebacker without getting Wilson on the field.
“We do keep track of [snap counts],” Schottenheimer said. “Occasionally, you look at the numbers and they don’t make sense, and this one certainly didn’t make sense. We have to do better as a coaching staff with that.”
