Christian Watson's Contract Just Set High Bar for Cardinals, Michael Wilson

ARIZONA — The price for Michael Wilson may have just gone up.

The Green Bay Packers just reached a reported extension with receiver Christian Watson, who inked a four-year, $110.5 million contract extension with a signing bonus worth $31 million.

Watson, drafted a year before Wilson, is also a year older than the Cardinals' wideout who exploded on to the scene in 2025 with a 1,000-yard campaign.

This offseason, Wilson became eligible for an extension, which the Cardinals suggested earlier at the Combine was an option on the table.

"Here's what I'd say about Michael. Michael had an outstanding year for us, he's a great person, he works, he leads and he produced on the field," Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort said earlier in the offseason.

"Michael's about everything we want our program to be about and hopefully he's here for a long time."

Wilson has played two less games than Watson but has 30 more receptions than the Packers' wideout. Watson trumps Wilson in every receiving category, however.

Stats	Christian Watson	Michael Wilson
Games	48	46
Receptions	133	163
Yards	2,264	2,119
Yards Per Catch	17	13
Total TD's	22 (20 REC, 2 RUSH)	14

Watson's $27.6 million annual average places him 15th among receivers in that category, and similar to Wilson's potential deal, many were critical of the Packers' willingness to pay Watson that sort of money.

The same sentiment is carried in the desert, where some are cautious on paying Wilson on just less than a season's sample size of WR1 production. Wilson had just over 50 receiving yards in the first five games of 2025 before seeing his numbers take off.

Where Watson's inability to produce big numbers stems from health issues, Wilson's was more due to lack of opportunity. That's the counterargument to concerns on Wilson's numbers.

That's likely the Cardinals' side of the negotiating table — they're adamant they want to keep Wilson around but would like to see a bit more sustained stats before forking over top receiver money.

Spotrac currently has Wilson's market value at $18.3 million per season. That seems like a fair number for Arizona — though Wilson's camp will very much counter with Watson's new deal as a more realistic approach in a wide receiver market that isn't getting cheaper.

That's another plus of getting something with Wilson done now as opposed to later — the market will continually reset itself as the salary cap grows. The Cardinals are projected to have $120 million in cap space next season according to OverTheCap, but that doesn't factor in projected extensions for Wilson, Paris Johnson Jr. and Garrett Williams.

Wilson, speaking with reporters on a potential new deal, didn't appear to be too worried.

"I don't want that to affect how I show up every single day, because ultimately that stuff is going to take care of itself, like what I did last year, I can't change," said Wilson. "That's my resume, that's what we're going off of. But as soon as Week 1 starts and we're playing against L.A. Chargers, contract stuff — that stuff doesn't matter."

Ossenfort has shown willingness in the past to extend players who are deserving of new deals without playing too much hard ball. You can ask the likes of Budda Baker, James Conner and Trey McBride among a handful of others.

Wilson showed up big time for the Cardinals last season. He's a high-character guy who represents much of what Arizona wants from all of their players — not just in the receivers room.

At some point in time, Wilson will be paid. If the number is slightly higher than what some are projecting, Watson's freshly-inked deal may have played a role.

Add us as a preferred source on Google