Linebacker Mack Wilson had a once-in-a-lifetime offseason. Now he’s working for an NFL campaign like he’s never had before.

Wilson joined the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent in March for a three-year, $12.75 million contract that included a $3.5 million signing bonus and $6.445 million in guaranteed money. In June, Wilson surprised his mother with a house.

“I didn’t get her nothing for Mother’s Day on purpose,” Wilson said. “And I told all the ladies in my family, I’m like, ‘I want you guys to drive to Houston. I’m going to have you all a woman’s weekend or whatnot.’ And I told them I had them an Airbnb. And they pulled up, and she pulled up and she walked in, and it was her house. It was like I said, ‘Welcome home, Mom,’ and things like that, so it was super dope. …

“It was surreal, honestly. Like, I didn’t know how to react at the moment. But, like, later on that day, I was super emotional because just with me being 26, I’ve accomplished so much. I’ve defeated so many odds. A lot of people counted me out, and a lot of people ain’t think I would make it this far. And I just kept chucking away, kept my head down, always was working. You know, even when things wasn’t going my way in my career, I always was working. I always stayed ready, and here I am now, so give all the thanks to God, honestly, and I’m just going to continue to keep working, continue to keep proving people wrong.”

A two-time All-State selection at Carver High School in Montgomery, Wilson played at Alabama in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

As a fifth-round rookie for the Cleveland Browns in 2019, Wilson entered the Browns’ starting lineup when veteran Christian Kirksey got hurt in the second game. Wilson went on to finish second on Cleveland with 82 tackles and play 943 defensive snaps that season.

In the four seasons since, Wilson has played a total of 1,107 defensive snaps. Cleveland traded Wilson to the New England Patriots after three seasons. Last offseason, Wilson reached free agency and returned to the Patriots for a one-year, $1.6 million contract that included a $245,000 signing bonus and $575,000 in guaranteed money.

“After I signed my one-year deal in New England, you know, I really didn’t have, like, choices or decisions,” Wilson said. “It was like, ‘All right, let’s just go back to New England. Do what you’ve got to do and, hopefully, next year we end up in a better position.’

“And this year I was able to kind of see what best fits me and pick the best decision and things like that, so it’s just all about just waiting on your moment and just taking advantage of every opportunity you get. And here I am a Cardinal, so it’s a blessing.”

What changed for Wilson between his past two contracts?

In December, New England coach Bill Belichick said: “Mack’s had a really good year for us.”

While recording a career-high 312 special-teams plays in 2023, Wilson still played only 27 percent of the Patriots’ defensive snaps. But late in the season, he got to try something different – rushing the passer.

In his first four NFL seasons, Wilson accumulated 2.5 sacks. In three consecutive December games in 2023, Wilson recorded a sack in each.

“I rushed in college a little bit, kind of played outside linebacker in high school as well,” Wilson said, “so it was always there, and I just feel like coach (Jerod) Mayo and coach Belichick gave me an opportunity to kind of showcase that when I got to New England because I didn’t do it in Cleveland. And I told them, ‘I can pass rush.’ And they gave me an opportunity, obviously. And we had a few injuries last season — (Matthew) Judon and (Josh) Uche went down. And, you know, they were just like, ‘All right, let’s give Mac a shot.’

…

“I knew I always had it athletically. I can bend. I can do a lot of things that people don’t know. And then when I’m out there, honestly, I just feel like I can’t be stopped, especially on the edge. It’s a different feel when I’m on the edge, honestly. Like, if I get a good get-off, like, it’s wraps, I feel like.”

Last season, only one team gave up more points than the Cardinals and none gave up more rushing yards than Arizona.

Along with Wilson, the Cardinals added cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting and defensive tackles Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols as free agents who could be defensive starters in 2024 and selected five defensive players in the first 138 picks of this year’s draft as former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon prepares for his second season as Arizona’s head coach.

The Cardinals went 4-13 in Gannon’s first season. Arizona has had one winning record in the past eight years.

“We’re going to be physical,” Wilson said about the Cardinals’ 2024 defense. “That’s first and foremost. They can’t win if they can’t run the ball, and that’s one thing we’ve got to do. We’ve got to stop the run; earn our right to rush the passer. And we just want to pride ourselves on being physical, being a resilient group, and just going out there going to work every day.”

Arizona starts its three-game preseason schedule on Saturday against the New Orleans Saints and kicks off its regular-season slate on Sept. 8 against the Buffalo Bills.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.