TEMPE, Ariz. — Michael Wilson will return to Arizona Cardinals training camp on July 23 coming off the best season of his young career, one in which he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time with 1,006 yards.
Wilson was one of the few bright spots in a 3-14 season that ended with coach Jonathan Gannon being fired and Kyler Murray later released. He called the milestone meaningful and said he plans to enjoy the accomplishment heading into next summer: “I’m not over it yet,” Wilson said. “I’m definitely going to enjoy having that 1K going into July 23rd.”
The start of Wilson’s breakout season was slow. Through the first five games he totaled eight catches on 18 targets for 52 yards and one touchdown, a pace that projected to roughly 177 yards over a full season. His production shifted after Week 6, when Jacoby Brissett replaced an injured Murray and Wilson gradually took on a larger role.
Wilson became the Cardinals’ top receiver in Week 11 with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Zay Jones sidelined and responded with 185 yards on 15 catches at San Francisco. Over a four-game stretch that included performances of 185, 118, 36 and 142 yards, he totaled 481 receiving yards — the most in the NFL during that span — and led the league with 56 targets, 39 receptions and receiving yards per game in those four games.
From Week 11 through the end of the season, Wilson finished with the second-most receiving yards and targets, and the third-most receptions and routes in the NFL. He closed the year with 79 receptions, seven touchdowns and 127 targets while running 593 routes, all career highs.
Wilson is eligible for a contract extension and is slated to earn a $3.924 million base salary in 2026. Several receivers already signed multi-year deals this year, according to Spotrac, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba (four years, $168.6 million), Jayden Smith-Njigba classmate Jayden Reed (three years, $50.25 million), Michael Pittman Jr. (two years, $35 million) and Dontayvion Wicks (one year, $12.5 million). Wilson said he hopes to replicate his second-half form in a new system and with a new playcaller next season: “be interesting to see what that type of play style and how confident and how well I was playing over 18 games.”
