Marco Wilson (born March 3, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

and was selected by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

in the fourth round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

. He has also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Early life

Wilson grew up in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

, and attended the American Heritage School. He committed to play

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

over offers from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

and

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. He is of Trinidadian descent through his father, and Puerto Rican through his mother.

College career

Wilson started as a true freshman and recorded 34 tackles and 10 passes broken up. He was named preseason third-team

All-SEC The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * ...

going into his sophomore year but tore his ACL two games into the season and redshirted the rest of the season. As a redshirt sophomore, he recorded 36 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, 3 interceptions and 2 passes broken up. As a senior, he had a notable incident involving throwing a shoe in a celebratory manner late during a game played on December 12, 2020, against the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

, which resulted in an

unsportsmanlike conduct Unsportsmanlike conduct (also called untrustworthy behaviour, ungentlemanly fraudulent, bad sportsmanship, poor sportsmanship or anti fair-play) is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmans ...

penalty that gave LSU a

first down A down in gridiron football is an attempt by the offensive team to run a play to advance the ball, while the defending team simultaneously attempts to halt their advance. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to othe ...

. LSU would go on to win the game after kicking a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

later that drive, beating the Gators 37–34.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Wilson was drafted by the

in the fourth round with the 136th overall pick of the

. On May 20, 2021, Wilson signed his four-year rookie contract with Arizona. Wilson entered his rookie season in 2021 as a starting cornerback alongside

Byron Murphy Byron Murphy Jr. (born January 18, 1998) is an American professional football cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies. Early life Murphy attended Saguar ...

. He finished the season with 48 tackles, two forced fumbles, and two passes defensed through 14 games and 13 starts. In Week 7 of the 2022 season, Wilson had a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown, along with three tackles and two pass breakups, in a 42-34 win over the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Wilson was released on December 26, 2023.

New England Patriots

On December 27, 2023, Wilson was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived on November 18, 2024.

Cincinnati Bengals

On November 19, 2024, Wilson was claimed off waivers by the

. He re-signed with the Bengals on March 12, 2025.

Personal life

Wilson's brother, Quincy Wilson, also played football at Florida and currently plays for the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioFlorida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Marco 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American football cornerbacks Florida Gators football players Arizona Cardinals players Cincinnati Bengals players New England Patriots players American Heritage School (Florida) alumni American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent Hispanic and Latino American players of American football