Cardinals legend Adrian Wilson provides 2 cents on Michael Wilson contract saga

When it comes to how the Arizona Cardinals should approach contract talks with impending free agent Michael Wilson, former safety and front-office executive Adrian Wilson provided his two cents on how the franchise should approach negotiations.

In a lengthy thread on X, the five-time Pro Bowler gave his thoughts on Michael Wilson’s market and said that while Wilson, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, is a good, solid, steady player, he was probably not a No. 1 receiver. He also added that it would be best for the Cardinals to wait until after the season to see how the situation plays out.

It sucks that ownership continually gets blamed for something not working. Look agents have a huge deal in this and let’s be honest the market is through the roof for wide receivers. Is Michael Wilson a #1 probably not. He’s a good solid steady player.

— Adrian Wilson (@adrian_wilson24) September 3, 2026

Wilson, who worked for the Cardinals from 2015-22 in several front-office roles, said that a high-value No. 2 option can complement a No. 1 option in the offense and that tight end Trey McBride is the No. 1 option for the Cardinals right now and not Wilson or Marvin Harrison Jr. He added that it would also be hard for the Cardinals to pay Wilson $20 million a year if they viewed Harrison as the No. 1 option.

You can’t pay Michael Wilson 20+ plus million while having thoughts about Marvin Harrison being your true #1 on the O/S. Just doesn’t make you feel good as a front office. No offense to Michael Wilson it’s just true.

— Adrian Wilson (@adrian_wilson24) September 3, 2026

Wilson also expressed the past difficulty of the Cardinals having to negotiate big contracts with multiple players in the same position group when he played for Arizona, such as with himself and safety Antrel Rolle and wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald.

Reminds me of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald having contract conversations and at the end of the day Anquan was the freaking dude but Fitz had already resigned to a damn near fully guaranteed contract.

— Adrian Wilson (@adrian_wilson24) September 3, 2026

So what was the team to do if it couldn’t get to the number that Q wanted. It’s just so hard to juggle those numbers at one position. Same thing happened with Antrel Rolle and myself. He ended up going to the Giants because the numbers just didn’t align.

— Adrian Wilson (@adrian_wilson24) September 3, 2026

He added that paying two different players big money in the same position group creates issues building the rest of the roster, such as the Cincinnati Bengals paying Ja’Marr Chase more than $40 million a year and Tee Higgins more than $25 million a year over the next three seasons.

Don’t talk to me about Tee Higgins and Jamar Chase either because the defense suffered for having multiple high number players at one position. At the end of the day it has to be logical balance.

— Adrian Wilson (@adrian_wilson24) September 3, 2026

Wilson’s comments come following ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reporting Wednesday that the Cardinals made efforts to sign Wilson to a contract extension, but that the likeliest outcome would be that the 26-year-old wideout would become a free agent following this season.

ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss later reported there had been movement on Wilson’s contract negotiations with the Cardinals and that “something could come down in the next day or so.”

After combining for more than 1,100 yards total in his first two NFL seasons, Wilson’s career trajectory changed in 2025 as he caught 78 passes for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns. He served as one of the top targets for quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who started in the Cardinals’ last 12 games of the season after taking over for an injured Kyler Murray.

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