Less than two weeks after Kyler Murray departed for Minnesota, the Cardinals have a new No. 1.
Linebacker Mack Wilson is taking over the jersey number previously worn by Murray. The seven-year NFL veteran announced the change with a video posted to social media Thursday.
Wilson's number change would land as a footnote on most days and for most players. Not this number, though. Murray wore No. 1 for the Cardinals for the last seven years, driving jersey sales and representing the face of the franchise's future in a single digit.
It became available once Arizona released Murray, and his place in the franchise's history wasn't enough to prevent the team from handing it to another player. The ever-confident Wilson happily scooped it up, choosing No. 1 for the first time in his collegiate or NFL career.
No. 1 will be Wilson's fifth jersey number of his career. He began his NFL journey as No. 51 in Cleveland, changed to his collegiate number (30) upon joining the Patriots in 2022, reduced that digit to 3 following the NFL's loosening of jersey number requirements in 2023, then dropped down by one to No. 2 upon arriving in Arizona in 2024.
Now, Wilson is signaling he's the one for the Cardinals' defense by wearing No. 1.
