It took long enough.
By that, I mean, so many people, whether fans or media, finally have realized and accepted the impact the loss of inside linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. had on the Arizona Cardinals' defense in the last nine games of the 2025 season.
Most of the time throughout the year when I would point out the massive number of games missed because of injury, the response from the “no-excuse crowd” would blindly repeat the tired refrain that “all teams have injuries” and the “next man up” mantra routinely said by players and coaches.
I get that the last group has to say that because the approach by coaches has to focus on the guys that are playing, not the ones that aren’t.
And, yes, it is true, that all teams have to deal with injuries. But every
team doesn’t have the exact total number or deal with multiple losses at the same position group. As for next man up, there’s a reason why certain players are backups and not starters.
So it was that the Cardinals lost all nine games Wilson missed, while other major injuries affected the offense and special teams.
Of course, the large blame-the-coach crowd went ballistic on defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, as if he could control those things. Even new head coach Mike LaFleur realized it in an interview after being hired last February where he mentioned specifically having to stay healthy on defense and noted how conversations he had with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford centered around the excellent job Rallis did with the defense before the teams played.
Now, after Wilson was back with the green dot in his helmet this past Sunday against the Chargers and knocked wide receiver Ladd McConkey out of the game with an injury to his ribs, suddenly there has been consistent talk from fans and media stating how important he is to the defense and how much his absence affected the group in those final nine games.
Now, there’s some breaking news! As noted at the top, it took long enough.
Rallis was asked this Thursday: “Everybody wants to make, and I think rightfully so, a big deal about Mack being back in the lineup. But it really feels like there was a line of demarcation when he got hurt last year with all due respect to the guys that played after him. And then to see what you guys did, do you see that? Is that putting a little bit too much into that?”
He said, “I mean, no. You can't quantify the value that each guy brings, but he's a guy that brings leadership. He brings violence. And he brings playmaking. So, when that's out of the lineup, yeah, that'll generally hurt you. So, yeah, you can feel his presence back out there.”
Emphasizing Wilson’s impact, head coach Mike LaFleur said, “He's a heavy dude, man. You feel him when he hits you. I think he's doing a really good job of, despite not knowing him a year or two ago or anything like that, I think since he's gotten back in late July to now, he's just playing underneath himself more and more every single time. He's hanging out in there; he's trusting his keys.
“When the ball's thrown or when he has to trigger in the run game, he's just trusting himself. You talk about shooting your shot. He's a guy that really believes that, because if you hesitate in this league at any position, you've got no chance, and he's a guy that's not going to hesitate."
When asked whether that physicality can be contagious, LaFleur readily agreed and compared it to the Seahawks defense the Cardinals will face on Sunday.
“I think typically when you've got a few guys — particularly some of your top guys that are doing stuff like that - everyone else wants to follow suit. I think that's probably why you see what you do in Seattle. I don't see a guy on the field; there are a few different jersey numbers this year than maybe last time when we (the Rams) played them in the NFC Championship, but they all have the same play-style.
“It doesn't matter who's out there. Even when you pop on the preseason (tape), and the starters are out, they all have the same play-style. That's a standard that they have when they walk in that building, and hopefully we're starting to develop that."
Finally, Rallis was asked about the difficulty of executing the body control Wilson exhibited on his hit of McConkey, where he made sure to lower his shoulder and make contact in the strike zone.
“It's hard,” Rallis said. “We talk about it all the time. You run out of coaching points sometimes just when you want to lower your target and not lead with the crown. But sometimes that guy's body is moving throughout the down and so he might be going for that catch and start to brace and his head starts to drop. So, you just have to emphasize dropping and know where your target is. There's going to be times where you don't get it out of there and it gets flagged. That's just part of the game right now. We have to understand that’s a really hard play.
“We don't want to take away from the violence in the back end. And we'll just continually emphasize, ‘Hey, man, try to lower your target as much as possible. Get your head out of it.’ And if it happens; I'm not out there adjusting my body as fast as those guys have to. It's a difficult play. So, it was really good by Mack to lower that target and not get a flag.”
Mostly, it was good to have Wilson back on the field. It can only be hoped that it lasts for the entire season.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals LB Mack Wilson's value is clear to see
