Michael Wilson will not undergo surgery for neck injury that ended his season

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson will not undergo surgery to address his neck injury and will instead let it heal on its own, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported.

ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss said Wilson’s recovery was expected to include wearing a brace for six weeks to two months after he fractured a vertebra. The receiver was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.

Head coach Mike LaFleur said the injury occurred on Arizona’s fourth play against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday when Wilson made a 17-yard reception, but he landed on his head.

He played through it, finishing the contest with six catches for 60 yards on seven targets.

“He’s got a fracture in his neck area … he said he just kind of had a kink in his neck, but he’s such a warrior,” LaFleur told reporters Monday. “He didn’t think much of it. Obviously, when the adrenaline wore down, and he had his tests today, that’s (when) we knew.”

LaFleur said he did not expect it to be a long-term injury that impacts Wilson beyond this season.

The receiver previously played through broken ribs during the previous game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Because of the missed time, Wilson will set new career lows for receiving yards (546) and touchdowns (two) in a season. The nine games he played is also a new low, the previous mark being 13 from his rookie season.

His 5.7 catches and 60.7 yards on a per-game basis were new top marks.

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