Say what you will about general manager Monti Ossenfort, but he made yet another good decision today in cutting a player who should have been gone sometime before the trade deadline. Marco Wilson, who was arguably the team’s worst corner, is finally no longer a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
Wilson looked like he was on the verge of taking a step forward in Year 3 of his career, only to fail more miserably than even the most pessimistic of us would have thought as what was initially the No. 1 corner. In 2022, Wilson allowed just 6.3 yards per target, four touchdown passes, a 57.5 completion percentage, and a 77.1 quarterback rating, setting the stage for what should have been major growth this season.
Instead, Wilson allowed 11.4 yards per target, nearly double what he allowed last year, five touchdowns, a 73.4 completion percentage, and an astounding 136.7 passer rating. The numbers caused him to quickly fall out of favor with management, and it all but foreshadowed his eventual release from the team.
Arizona Cardinals correct to finally cut Marco Wilson after ineffective season
Cutting Wilson should have been an easy move, considering his poor play all season. He never once enjoyed a good game in 2023, and he even seemed to regress as the campaign wore on, until defensive coordinator Nick Rallis and head coach Jonathan Gannon yanked him from the lineup.
Wilson rarely saw the field again after that, and per Football Guys, he recorded zero defensive snaps from Week 12 and onward. Now, the ineffective third-year corner will get a chance to continue his career elsewhere while Monti Ossenfort searches for a much-needed replacement either via free agency or the draft.
We don’t know who will replace Wilson next season, but one thing is for certain: It will be very hard for whoever steps in to emulate what Wilson “accomplished” this year. Ossenfort would have to completely botch this for any potential successor to regress at the position.
Source: Arizona Cardinals waiving cornerback Marco Wilson by Tyler Drake, Arizona Sports
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)