WR Michael Wilson Press Conference- 11.24.25 | AZ Cardinals

WR Michael Wilson Press Conference- 11.24.25 | AZ Cardinals

had a chance to digest kind of what happened yesterday. What are your initial thoughts of I guess first the just what happened with the team and being so close and not quite together? Uh um it’s tough because I feel like we played really hard as a team and uh you know when you win the the turnover battle four to nothing like it statistically you should win the football game and so I feel like that was one of those one-off games where we just didn’t capitalize on some of those turnovers and we weren’t good in the low red like converting on certain field goals and whatnot. Um and allowing our kicker to even attempt uh field goals. But yeah, it was just it was a tough tough game. Um just kind of one of those where you kind of look back and it was like, damn, I don’t know how we lost that. But I feel like we’ve had a few of those this year. I think after the last game, you acknowledge that yes, it’s tough to lose, but but you were pleased with your own performance. Have you surprised yourself at all with what you’ve been able to do these these two games? Um surprised myself? Like I know you have high expectations for yourself and believe in yourself, but to put up 300 yards in two games. Yeah. No, I don’t think I’ve surprised myself at all. I think um I think that my whole career I’ve just sort of waited for an opportunity to take on sort of that that role where I where I know I’m going to be getting the ball a lot. And um like I’m not surprised because I’ve done it in practice like through training camp and practice every day and the offseason. Like I live, breathe, and die football. Like that’s all I think about 24/7 outside of my family. U but like I don’t play when it comes to football. Like this is what I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid. And so I don’t I don’t think I don’t think I’m surprised by any success because like my whole day and my whole year is predicated on what’s going to allow me to perform at a high level and I I think the work is showing. How have you seen you and Jacob’s chemistry kind of grow these last few games even more so just getting those more looks your way? Yeah, he’s a he’s just phenomenal person, phenomenal player. Um really easy to play with. um just his communication like he just sends me so many clips like I kid you not the game last week against the Niners like the catch that put me over uh 100 yards when I caught the uh corner over Damodor he sent me that clip and was like hey I cuz uh a team had run that route and or had run a far across sorry so they’re running across the field and theodore had tried to slice it and he’s like hey I see if we call this play I see them trying to slice it so just trust that you’re going to beat him over the top. And he sent me that with the voice over. Like I could show you the text right now. And it played out exactly like that. And he does that continuously throughout the week. Calls me two-minute phone call. Hey, go to play 56 when um Jacksonville played the Bengals. Like if we have that play in, I like how Jamar Chase did this. I see you running it this way. Or we have a play in, he didn’t like how a receiver ran a certain route. Hey, I see you running it this way. And like I always log those, write them down in my notes so that way it’s on the forefront of my mind when I’m playing the game. And so it’s not going back to your surprise question, like I don’t I’m never surprised when that stuff shows up on Sunday because I’m a firm believer in preparation and playing with him is like we’re we’re on our P’s and Q’s. What does that impact when you know, okay, he might play it this way. Does that just like impact how he might run the route? Yeah, for sure. just just giving you like a heads up just maybe a tell or a certain thing that’s on the forefront of your mind going into a certain play because we’ve talked about it throughout the week. Go ahead. I was going to say did you did you know that you might play a role in that last regulation drive? Like did you know that you were going to go over the top and was that an idea at some point on that drive? the the the play you made right before Oh, the field goal. The uh No, honestly, that we that we hadn’t even rep that repped that route like Yeah, that was just honestly that was a phenomenal play call by uh Drew like we noticed that they were trying to jump a lot of stuff. Um and that was just kind of Drew seeing the game and trusted me to go make a play and trusting in the call and trusting yeah that Jacob’s going to make the throw. I was going to win on the route and Drew Drew dialed it up. I think it was before your first uh games before last week. Um JG or someone said that you had really improved in your route running um from last year to this year. What areas of of your route running do you think um have have taken that step forward? I think my route running has really improved. I want to give all the credit, not all the credit, but a lot of the credit to my receiver coach, Drew Terrell. Um, because like the way he teaches us to run routes is really simple. It’s body posture, coming off the route or coming off the line to scrimmage. It’s launching. It’s keeping your stride link open. Um, it’s being relaxed at the top of the route. It’s attacking the ball with your hands. Like it’s four to five simple things that if you can do that at a really high level and execute those small things at a high level like it it turns into 185 yard games like 120 yard games. Um, and just like I just Yeah, I really think that me working with him and trusting in his coaching has been the differencemaker of allowing me to step into this role that I’ve been I guess that’s been bestowed upon me the last two weeks and being able to thrive in that because I’ve I’ve been working on his coaching points for for three years now. Um, but I feel like this off seasonason and going into this season, I really feel like I have maximized my athletic body and been able to maximize my play speed to make me able to create separation on some really good corners. Um, trusting my hands to make plays away from my body and not try to body catch. I think I that was one thing I needed to work on from my uh my rookie year and I feel like just all those things are are coming to fruition given uh given how the play turned out. I don’t think it really made any difference. But after you made the big catch, the spin, and then running, kind of what’s going through your mind? Yeah, it’s just I made a big play. Um, and I hate to say it, but truthfully, I just had a mental lapse. Um, and obviously the optics of it just it looks looks undisiplined. It looks bad. Um, and that’s not that’s not indicative of who I am as a player and how we coach things. Like we talk about our SOPs, our standard operating procedures from two minute like from OTAAS and we talk about that every week. JG talks about you catch an explosive if we don’t have a timeout you run the ball back into the ref. Like it’s just a bad play on my part or not a bad play but a bad bad moment for me and I got to just get up hand the ball to the ref. I don’t think it affected anything, but it just it looks undisiplined. It looks it looks sloppy. You’ve been transparent about I mean for years of understanding what your role is and that even if you’re not most targeted, you’re okay with blocking and just getting a few targets a game and playing behind Marvin and since he hasn’t been able to play, I mean, the way you have taken advantage of the opportunity. I’m curious what, if anything, he has said to you the last few weeks given what you’ve been doing out there. Yeah, he’s just I mean, he’s been really encouraging. Um the main I guess message I’ve got from him and truthfully like everyone in the building is that everyone’s like I’m not surprised at all by the production the way I performed over the last two years. I feel like that’s just been the theme of what my strength coaches have been told have told me my offensive coordinator, my receiver coach, teammates around me, they’ve all been really supportive and been like, “Hey man, like we seen the work that you’ve been putting in since your rookie year, the work you put in every day. like no one no one is surprised that you’re that the results are are what they are. What’s that mean to you to hear guys say that they’re not surprised by you going out there and balling? Oh, it’s it’s definitely uh it’s definitely a gratifying feeling. Um I think it’s like one thing that I’m big on is more so than like production is earning the respect of people in the building. Like I’m big on that. And I think the way you do that is how you show up every day and um the way people see you work. And so I think it’s it’s it’s really humbling and I think it’s a it’s it’s a big win for me when I hear people say that cuz I that’s one of the things I pride myself on is like process preparation more so than results. Um because ultimately like you you have 100% control over your process and your preparation and people people can feel that and see it. You mentioned catching the ball away from your body, making those contested catches. To us, that’s the thing that’s stood out the most in your two starts. What in your mind has been the biggest reason um for for your success? Like, has that has that been the thing you’ve done best? Is there something else that we’re not seeing? Uh the biggest reason for my success is I really want to say it’s it’s really the opportunity. Um, it’s coach Ganon trusting me, coach Petting trusting me, calling plays for me, uh, my receiver coach trusting me. Um, and then Jacobe obviously trusting me and throwing me the ball offensive line. Like, you can’t put up those numbers without, uh, good OC calling the plays, uh, good quarterback play, good old line play. Like, it’s not just all me. like it’s it’s this whole organism, this whole organization believing in me and putting me in those opportunity, putting me in those situations to make those plays. And then ultimately that’s when it falls on me. But to answer your question, I feel like the the biggest thing that stood out is just having the opportunity to get 18 targets, 15, like I’ve never had that opportunity um really since high school. So uh yeah, just opportunity. Another thing J G mentioned is is your instincts a player? Maybe there’s a 12- yard dig called and you feel the coverage, you break it off after six yards. That’s obviously a really difficult thing to see without knowing what the play was. Have there been any plays in these two games where you’ve kind of made an instinct play and kind of broken off what may have been called? Yeah, we called we called a uh I had an inbreaker. Um we were an empty against uh San Francisco. I think it was second and second and nine and uh like the the paper route on that is like a 10 to 12 yard. We call it hatchet route. So it’s a fifth out or third outside five total steps speed in and they went cover cover one and I saw like the whole middle of the field vacate and so I ran the route at like four yards. Um and Jacobe gave me like a little ball on my back on my low hip and I ended up getting the first down. I think that play when JG had talked to me, he was like that was one he that was my his favorite route that I ran that whole week because that’s like receiver instincts like okay I know my depth is really supposed to be at 10 but I feel the middle of the field vacate. So that means they’re blitzing and there’s pressure. Like let me just come be quarterback friendly. Uh snap my route off early and like I said, Jacobe and I just have a natural rapport for just getting open, catching the football, him throwing me. So um yeah, I think that play It also feels like you have a a good understanding of where spaces are in zones. Is that something you’ve you’ve developed throughout your career and and has that popped up in these two games? Yeah, I think for sure. I mean, I’ve been playing football since I was eight. um been playing receiver since I was 14. So like I’ve I feel like I’ve been in every single scenario of catching the football, of making every different type of catch, every type of route versus man, zone. Uh like you just do things so many times that you just have a natural feel for how to get open, how to catch the football. I think it’s just this my 17th season playing a football. Like it’s just it’s just bank preps.

WR Michael Wilson addresses the media after the loss vs the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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