Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson says his Week 9 rib injury against the Cowboys turned into a serious hospital ordeal, including a punctured lung and a tube in his chest. He missed the remainder of last season after being placed on injured reserve.
Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson spent most of last season fighting his way back from a Week 9 injury against the Cowboys that he now describes as far worse than he expected.
Wilson said Saturday that his condition included a rib fracture and a punctured lung.. He explained that he was hospitalized for three days and had a tube placed in his chest.. “It was tough for me. coming out of the hospital. having to sleep sitting [expletive] upright for three weeks. ” Wilson said. adding. “I was in a dark place for sure.”
The Cardinals placed Wilson on injured reserve a week after the Week 9 game, listing a rib injury. After that move, he did not play again for the rest of the season.
Wilson, 28, had earned captain honors and became the playcaller on defense last season, but that role lasted only eight games. From there, the injury cost him the final nine games of the season.
He said the experience was both difficult and clarifying. “It was a learning experience, a humbling experience,” Wilson said of his injury last season. He added that he took a step back, saying he was able to “reevaluate my career and my life in general.”
Wilson also pointed to what kept him going: “Remember why I do it. I have some hunger in me and feel this year is going to be one of the best years of my career.”
The pattern is stark: Wilson entered last season as a captain and defensive playcaller for eight games, then the rib fracture and punctured lung sidelined him for the final nine games—after the Cardinals put him on injured reserve one week following the Week 9 loss to the Cowboys.
Wilson noted that before this season-ending injury, he had missed only seven games across his first six seasons, making last year’s hospital stretch and three weeks of sleeping upright a major break from his recent availability.
For now, his focus is on the work ahead and the promise he feels for the coming season, even after describing last year’s recovery as a period when he was “in a dark place.”
Mack Wilson Arizona Cardinals NFL Cowboys rib fracture punctured lung injured reserve linebacker captain defense playcaller
Dude got a punctured lung and they’re still talking like it’s just “weeks”?? wild.
I swear every time someone plays the Cowboys they end up broken in half. Like it’s a curse or something.
Wait so they put him on injured reserve like immediately after the rib injury but he still tried to come back as a “playcaller”? My brain can’t handle that. Sleeping sitting upright for three weeks sounds brutal though.
“Dark place” is heavy. But also, aren’t they basically just calling him back for the next season like nothing happened? He said it was worse than expected, so like… what did he expect, just a bruise? Hope he’s good, cuz tubes in the chest just sounds terrifying.