Arizona Cardinals v Seattle Seahawks
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The injuries continue to pile up for the Arizona Cardinals. The latest player to suffer a catastrophic injury is receiver Michael Wilson. According to head coach Mike LaFleur, Wilson is out for the rest of the season with a neck injury.
“He’s got a fracture in his neck area,” said LaFleur in his media briefing on November 9.
LaFleur clarified the injury happened on the fourth play of the game. Arizona suffered a brutal 17-3 loss to the Seahawks, dropping their record to 3-6 and likely pushing them towards selling at the trade deadline and evaluating players for 2027.
“He said he had a kink in his neck, but he’s such a warrior; he didn’t think much of that. When the adrenaline wore down, got his tests today. That’s when we knew.”
With a season-ending injury, the Cardinals will likely place Wilson on injured reserve to free up a 53-man roster spot. That move will likely come before the team conducts its next practice on Wednesday (November 11).
What the Michael Wilson Injury News Means for the Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals v Seattle Seahawks
GettyMichael Wilson finishes the 2026 season with 51 catches for 546 yards and two touchdowns. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images)
This comes as devastating news to an offense that’s undergone significant changes in recent weeks. They opened the season with Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. as the starting outside receivers. At the season’s midpoint, neither will play another game for Arizona in 2026.
Factor in injuries, the Cardinals are down four receivers from where they opened the season. Kendrick Bourne and Jalen Brooks are also done for the year with their respective injuries. Now the team will have to operate with a very young and untested group over the final eight weeks of the season.
“A lot of opportunity for guys to go out there and show us what they got,” said LaFleur.
That isn’t necessarily helpful for an organization that could be breaking in a new quarterback soon. With the Jacoby Brissett trade and backup Gardner Minshew II dealing with an injury to his throwing arm, rookie Carson Beck could be in line for his first NFL start against the Los Angeles Rams.
Beck will have All-Pro tight end Trey McBride as his top target. But with injuries at the receiver spot, teams will roll their coverages towards McBride and force Beck to go elsewhere.
The Cardinals will likely start Reggie Virgil and Simi Fehoko as the outside receivers. But given the lack of depth at receiver, LaFleur could turn more toward multiple tight-end packages and get Elijah Higgins and Teagan Quitoriano more snaps. That enables them to be more multiple on run looks as well as add protection for Beck.
What’s Next for Michael Wilson?
Arizona Cardinals v Los Angeles Rams
GettyMichael Wilson’s next snap for the Cardinals will be in 2027. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
A fractured neck is always a scary situation. Wilson will likely wear a neck brace to add stability to the area as the fracture heals. That process will take six to eight weeks. In the meantime, the Cardinals will put him through further testing as it heals.
The hope is that Wilson will be fully healthy before offseason activities start in May. Next year, his three-year extension kicks in, and he’ll be trusted to carry a major load in the offense. Especially since the team may be going with a relatively inexperienced quarterback option.